Tale
by KingZhongmou
Summary: Dong Zhuo, the evil tyrant, and his violent stepson Lu Bu, fought for the hand of a beautiful maiden, Diaochan, and in the end, the tyrant was slain by the chaos-seeking villain. The victors are the writers of their own history, for this is not how it happened. Dong Zhuo x Diaochan, Lu Bu x Diaochan, Lu Shao (OC) x Cai Wenji and Lu Lingqi x Hua Xiong.
1. The Celebration

**Tale**  
**Chapter I, Celebration**

**Disclaimer:** As of this chapter, I do not claim to own Dynasty Warriors or any other characters you recognise. However, Wang Chun is an original character created by me and the situations/storyline is mostly fictionalised versions created in my imagination.  
**Author's Notes: **This chapter and perhaps the next few chapters will be short, however, I hope you will enjoy my story as it is the first I have written in a long time. I can promise you an interesting twist on the story any devoted Three Kingdoms reader will know well.

The party was large and elegant. The table was stocked with food yet to be enjoyed, and there were many lords of different provinces and duchies waiting before the elderly but wise lord, Wang Yun, who was using his staff to walk onto the stage. He kept a keen watch on the lords and their most trusted officers, who were enjoying the night flirting with many of Wang Yun's maidens and nieces. The elderly minister began to beat his staff into the ground to gain the attention of the lords.

"I hope you are enjoying your stay here," Wang Yun croaked as he lifted his wineglass and raised it, receiving a response in cheers. "But I must reveal the truth to you all. You are indeed here to celebrate the birth of my nephew, Chun, but that is not the prime intention of your gathering here."

The lords suspiciously made glances at one another. Wang Chun, the young nephew of the minister, had taken a seat beside one of the lords, who wore a small dark beard and a cape of purple. Wang Yun took a step forwards to ensure that each and every lord could hear every thing he said. He then smiled and stroked his chin.

"The true reason of your gathering is that for many decades now, our empire has faced strife, and in this last one, we have lost many a thing," he spoke, reading the faces of the lords. "The rebellion has destroyed our lands and the ten commanding officers of our empire had betrayed Lord He Jin, a good friend of many of us. Lords Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu of Ji, whom are both amongst us now, made their best effort to rid the land of them, to great success. But taking the advantage of us was Dong Zhuo, who ashamed four centuries of priviliged heroes by forcing the young Emperor Shao into abdicating to the younger son of our late Emperor Ling. Dong Zhuo has abused the power he has and is manipulating us, one by one! He is taking the good lords of our empire and turning them against us. Master Hua Xiong, the officer who had showed great bravery in saving my life earlier this year, is now in the ranks of the tyrannical man who is abusing the power and destroying the capital inside out!"

Wang Yun turned to his nephew, tears trickling down his face as he made his speech. Some of the lords were shedding tears also at the realisation that they were letting their ancestors down. Then the minister looked at the lord seated next to his nephew and bowed to him, for he was the one he respected more than any of the other lords – he was Cao Cao, the son of Wang Yun's close friend Cao Song. Cao Cao took a sip of his wineglass, almost bored by the speech, but Wang Yun continued.

"If you are here to look down on me, or to look down on one of the other lords, you are looking down on the Han Dynasty!" he shouted, pointing his cane at various lords. "But I trust you all to the last of my breath and can ensure that you are all honourable men of the Han and that tyrant is taking away our power! We must not let our duchies and our provinces and our clans fall to that man, otherwise our households and families and lives will fall apart and he will drag us to a hell worse than that witnessed by the demons themselves! Do not allow him to consume you with his insanity but fight with the goodness in your hearts for we are the lords of the Han and we do not falter to evil!"

All of the lords, bar Cao Cao, were moved to tears. As they wept into their sleeves and handkerchiefs, Cao Cao simply looked around to see if he could recognise faces. He spotted his close friend, Yuan Shao, comforting one of his officers who was weeping for the Han. Cao Cao clapped his hands in applause, though it may have been slightly sarcastic, and then, he began to cackle, first silently but then aloud. Many lords began to eye him with suspicion as he crossed his legs and sipped some more of his wine.

"Will all this weeping slay Dong Zhuo?" Cao Cao asked, as soon as he had controlled his laughing.

"Your forbears ate the bounty of the Han!" Wang Yun shouted in anger at his respectable guest. "Do you feel no gratitude? How can you laugh?"

Cao Cao sighed before replying, "I laughed at the absurdity of an assembly like this being unable to compass the death of one man."

A few lords stood up and their officers drew their swords. Wang Yun felt hurt by Cao Cao's words, for He Jin was a good friend and a great leader, and his death had gone in vain. He then looked back at Cao Cao, who had just swallowed the rest of his wine in one go.

"Foolish and incapable as I am, I will cut off his head and hang it at the gate as an offering to the people," Cao Cao continued, shaking his wineglass before placing it on the table. "Recently, I have bowed my head to Dong Zhuo with the sole desire of finding a chance to destroy him. Now he begins to trust me, and so, I can get close to him. You have a sword with seven precious jewels which I would borrow, and I will go to his palace and kill him."

Wang Yun looked at Wang Chun, who poured more wine into Cao Cao's wineglass. The young nephew then drew the sword with the seven jewels and held it in the air for all to see it. There were a few gasps of awe before Wang Chun offered the blade to Cao Cao and nodded his head to the older lord.

"I care not if I die for it," Cao Cao spoke, clutching the jewelled sword and hiding it under his robes.

He then stood up and bowed to the people before passing them and leaving the hall. Wang Yun raised his wineglass once more to allow the celebration to continue. Wang Chun turned his eye to see his cousin, the beautiful songstress and adoptive daughter of Wang Yun, enter the hall and curtsey to Cao Cao. She then made her way to her father and sat beside him.

"He is such a magnificent speaker," she said quietly. "What a brave man. I do not believe that he would use all of that potential to the Han as you do, though. Do not trust him, father."

"He is a friend, Diao Chan," Wang Yun spoke, stroking her hair and smiling. "Besides, I have a visitor tonight so I do not want you bringing up any news about Cao Cao. I entrust all of these people are loyal to the Han and I do not want you to speak the wrong things."

"Who is the visitor, father?" she asked, tapping his shoulder.

"It is the adoptive son of Dong Zhuo," he answered her, walking away from her, leaving her in shock.


	2. The Engagement

**Tale  
Chapter II, The Engagement**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters you may recognise. Lu Shao, Wang Chun, Wang Cen, Wang Yue, Wang Fang and Wang Jie are all my own original characters. I do not own Lu Lingqi, although I have redesigned her personality to my own liking.  
**Author's Note:** This chapter is also minimal, so please forgive me if it is too small. I promise, the next chapters will be more storylinial and will be longer, I am just setting the basis down for my story.

It was late at night and the lords were quietly leaving. Diao Chan sighed with relief of the silence which filled the house. It had only been a quarter of an hour before there was another pounding on the large doorway. Wang Chun rushed to the door and quickly peered through the small glass spectacle in the door, in order to see who it was, and opened it as soon as he recognised the man. It was Lu Bu, the great general of Han, who was adopted by the tyrant Dong Zhuo and worked for his armies. He was the very man who had seen to it that his first adoptive father was murdered and his armies surrendering to Dong Zhuo just over a year beforehand. Wang Chun smiled and took his cane, beating it into the ground three times. At that exact moment, Wang Yun, along with four other men, appeared from different doorways in the building.

"Lord Wang Yun," Lu Bu greeted, bowing in respect to the elder minister. "I have heard of your banquet earlier in the evening. I expect the guests have disappeared as of now?"

"You have come," Wang Yun said, his eyes lighting up. "I want you to meet my nephews, Chun, Cen, Yue and Fang."

Three of the four men who had entered with Wang Yun bowed, along with Chun, who had opened the door. They were all tall handsome men, but none matched the height or handsomeness of Lu Bu himself. Lu Bu looked to the fourth man and frowned. He looked similar to the other four men but was taller and more handsome. He seemed to hold the most power too, judging by the robes he wore.

"Who must he be?"

"He is my son, Jie," Wang Yun said, with pride. "My only son."

Lu Bu bowed to him before pulling back a chair and taking his seat opposite to his elder. The five men sat on different sides of the table so that there were three on each side and Wang Yun himself at the head.

"Why was I invited after the food and wine had gone?" Lu Bu joked, however, the four nephews exchanged hurtful glares.

"I'm sorry," Wang Yun laughed, stretching his hand outward in apology. "But many of my guests were, unfortunately, opponents of our great Chancellor. Your presence here would only have offended them and I did not want to see you harmed."

Lu Bu raised an eyebrow before slowly repeating the words, "Did not want to see me harmed? Harmed?"

"Well, I did not want to risk anything," Wang Yun responded, "I just wanted there to be a nice eerie moment of peace."

"You could crush them all single-handed," Jie called out, earning a respectful smile from Lu Bu and a resentful glare from his four cousins.

Lu Bu scratched his brow, "I guess we can start the discussion now," he said, stretching his arms. Chun slammed his cane onto the ground twice, signalling Diao Chan, his adoptive daughter, to enter with a jug of wine, with a trail of perfume following behind her. Lu Bu's eyes widened and a brow raised when he caught sight of the beauty, who slowly filled seven wine glasses, allowing each of the men around the table to take one.

"Drink," Wang Yun spoke, allowing the men to take a few sips of their wine before he continued. "I did have a hidden agenda behind this meeting, besides the wine, and she is right before you."

"Your maid?" Lu Bu asked, before rushing through the rest of his wine and turning his head to the beautiful woman. "She must be about fifteen? And still, isn't there other suitors out there?"

"Of course," Wang Yun nodded his head, "But I do not respect the other ones as I do you. You can protect her. And she would make a very beautiful wife, to replace Lady Yan, who you did not get along with very well. She'd make the perfect woman for you."

"I present her to you," Jie stood up and looked at Lu Bu. "As her brother, it is my duty to protect her until I can find her the right man to prize her to, and I have found that the man I had been waiting for was indeed you."

"Then, I will ask her for my hand in marriage," Lu Bu quickly spoke, turning to her and kneeling. "I ask you to be my wife, my lady?"

Diao Chan curtseyed to him and kissed his hand. Lu Bu looked to his elder minister and smiled before standing up and turning on the spot. He then bowed his head to each of the men and walked towards the door, his mind revolving around many different thoughts.

"I must take my leave," Lu Bu said, "I thank you for having me."

"It is my honour," Wang Yun bowed. "I will ask of you to allow my daughter to remain a maiden in my household for six weeks before I give her away."

"Indeed," Lu Bu replied, opening the door and leaving the household.

Lu Bu stepped out of the house. As one of the nephews closed the door, Lu Bu began to move towards his magnificent steed, Red Hare, and quickly mounted it. A young man with short blonde hair clad in purple, and a girl of the same age with long brown hair tied in a tail, looked towards Lu Bu. The blonde boy lifted a two hundred pound halberd into the air and threw it towards the grand general.

"Come on, old man," the boy said, unsheathing a sword and pointing it into the air. "We've got to get back to grandfather."

Lu Bu looked at the boy and snatched his halberd, the Lunar Spear, from the air. No man ever dared to insult Lu Bu by insisting he was growing age but this boy was an exception. If the boy had held no relations to him, however, Lu Bu would've cut his head off clean on the spot. The boy smiled at Lu Bu.

"Father, come on," the boy called out, kicking his horse to force it to speed off down the long road.

"Hurry up," the girl said, following the young boy from ontop her steed. "We will be killed if the dog finds out where we are."

Lu Bu nodded to his daughter as she followed his son down the long road. Shao and Lingqi, his son and daughter, meant the world to him. They were both just fourteen years old, but they spoke and acted as if they were double their own age. Shao was very wise and Lingqi could hold her own on the battlefield. Not that Lu Bu liked it when either of his children entered battle, especially Lingqi.


	3. Cao Xing

**Tale  
Chapter III, Cao Xing**

**Disclaimer: **I own Lu Shao and Hua Xiong's wife, Lady Li. Cao Xing, like Lu Lingqi, is a character not owned by me, however, over than his demise, not much is known about him, so I have completely changed him to my liking, so he may not be the same as you envisioned.  
**Author's Notes:** I am unhappy with the usual length of my story so I have lengthened this one by almost a thousand words. I hope the story is decent and it entertains you. As you may also see, I tend to use non-playable characters in Dynasty Warriors more than the playable ones as I prefer them historically, seeing as various people in the game do not deserve their place there - such as Bao Sanniang and Zuo Ci - while non-playable characters tend to have the most achievements and have no personality, so can be swayed in my cause, i.e. Cao Xing, Hu Zhen and Hua Xiong in this story.

The great banners of the Han Dynasty swayed through the air from the top of the immensely fantastic city walls. Luoyang, the capital, was the most flourishing city in the empire. At the moment, it was under the control of the Chancellor Dong Zhuo who self-appointed himself with these titles. Lu Bu was the Guardian General of Luoyang and his children sought to follow his path. Lu Bu did have many other children to consorts, but he did not care much about them, as Shao and Lingqi were the only ones he was able to cope with and ever loved.

As Lu Bu and his son approached the city gate, one of the men on top of the walls blew a horn. The gates were slowly heaved open, and Lu Bu rode into the city, followed by Shao. Lingqi caught up after about fifteen seconds of galloping and the three dismounted their horse and tied them up in the stable.

"Where is Dong Zhuo?" Lu Bu shouted from the top of his voice, clenching his fist and dropping the Lunar Spear. "Where is my father?"

Dong Zhuo appeared from behind one of the market stalls with two young girls on either arm and a few guards following behind from a cautious distance. Dong Zhuo smiled as he saw his adopted son grin to his father. Dong Zhuo was a tall and slim man, with a thick beard and many robes covering him to make him appear more stout.

"I am here," Dong Zhuo laughed, shaking his body in excitement before embracing his son. "I've been looking for you, Fengxian, but I couldn't see you anywhere!"

Shao walked up to his father and bowed to his grandfather before pulling a reluctant Lingqi to his side. Dong Zhuo tapped Shao on his shoulder and stroked Lingqi's chin, causing her to shiver. He then looked back to Lu Bu, who was oblivious to his father's quick actions, and Dong Zhuo turned to one of his girls and kissed her, causing Lingqi to shiver once again.

"Father, I have brought back news for you," Lu Bu smiled, as he turned to his son and grinned. "My children might want to hear this too. I am due to be married in six weeks to a beautiful maiden."

"Really?" asked Shao, who laughed in excitement. "So, now I can finally have a new mother."

"Who is she?" Lingqi sounded much less enthusiastic about the idea of a woman entering Lu Bu's life and replacing her.

"Yeah," Dong Zhuo cackled, "Who is she, Fengxian?"

"I do not recall her name," Lu Bu looked to the ground in shame and shook his head. "But I do not need to, for I was never told."

Dong Zhuo broke into laughter. The young girls on either arm nodded their heads to Lingqi before making their way to Shao. Shao smiled at the girls and slapped his father's back before walking away with the girls in the direction of the market.

"Come, I must show you something," Dong Zhuo grunted as he watched the girls disappear from him. "Lingqi, can you go and get your uncle and bring him here before I have to drag him out here myself."

Lingqi frowned at Dong Zhuo, remaining on the spot. When Lu Bu gave her a cold glare, Lingqi quickly left the two men alone and disappeared in the opposite direction of Shao. Lu Bu was now alone with his father, and the two men began to walk towards a grand staircase leading to Dong Zhuo's palace.

"I have proposed the most amazing plan!" Dong Zhuo said, as he grabbed a meatbun from one of the market stands and took a large bite into it. "My old friend Yuan Shao is going to take the title of Governor of Huainan and, in doing so, will be my vassal. With his power, we can crush Gongsun Zan's lands and weaken those who oppose me."

"Does Yuan Shao know of your title-bearing plan?" Lu Bu asked, and then shook his head without recieving in answer. "In fact, does the Emperor even know that you are giving bestowments to these men?"

"He doesn't and he doesn't," Dong Zhuo whispered, "But I hope he will accept it or I will have to depose him and find some good-for-nothing infant to replace him with."

"Why don't you usurp the throne for yourself?" Lu Bu rebuttled.

"Because, believe it or not," Dong Zhuo quickly finished the rest of his meatbun before continuing, "I am actually a loyal retainer of the Han Dynasty. It is my job to choose the Emperor, act as regent, and when he fails me, to depose him. If he does well, I will protect him. And all along, I get power, women and money! Its a win-win situation. If I was the emperor, the people would hate me and they would rebel, and I'd be powerless to stop them. So, unless its the Emperor's intention to abdicate, I will remain loyal."

"Fair enough then," Lu Bu nodded, hardly understanding a word that Dong Zhuo had said. "You do what you're doing."

Dong Zhuo nodded as he reached the palace. The two climbed the stairs and reached the gates. The guards quickly slammed their spears into the ground and bowed in unison, before turning to face eachother and their spears stretched into the sky, so that the two men could walk beneath the spears.

As Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu entered the palace to feast and drink, Lingqi had found her way to the house of Hua Xiong, her godfather, and the very same man Dong Zhuo had referred to as her 'uncle'. As she knocked on the door, she heard a call from across the street. It was the call of Hua Xiong's wife, Lady Li.

"Hi," she called out, rushing over to her.

"Hi," Lingqi shyly replied, as she looked to the door. "Is uncle in?"

"He's gone to visit the barracks," she replied, taking her key out and unlocking the door. "Do you want to come in and wait for him to return?"

"That's fine, its a bit of a hurry, I kind of need him now."

"Don't worry then," Lady Li replied, opening the door and walking in. "Do come down again and bring Shao!"

"I will," Lingqi smiled as she walked away from the house, kindly ignoring Lady Li's waves.

As soon as the door had closed, something whipped past her head without warning and buried itself in the post right beside her head. She turned around, drawing her dagger, to see that her childhood friend, Cao Xing, racing towards her. She grinned with joy as Xing embraced her and then rushed straight past her to collect a dart he had just thrown.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Lingqi asked as he picked up the dart and turned to her. "Because you're going to succeed one day."

"Come with me to the barracks," he called back as he ran away. "If you can catch up."

Suddenly, Xing leaped onto a market stall and then jumped off it, grabbing the metal bar which sticked out of the buildings, holding lamps which were lit from the windows at night. Xing flew from the bar and onto the rooftop of a building. He looked down to Lingqi who, in response, rushed towards the wall past the stall he had leaped from and ran up it, rebounding off it and landing beside Xing. After they giggled for a bit, Xing turned her head.

"What are you doing?" Lingqi asked as Xing held her head in his hands.

"Nothing," he replied, moving a line of hair from her eyes and placing it neatly behind her ear. "Come on."

Lingqi touched her face inc confusion before following Xing as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop. Xing rushed across the tiles and leaped off the building. He then dived into a haystack five metres below him, followed by Lingqi. As soon as she landed in the haystack, she felt something touch her back and jumped in fright. As Xing stuck his head out of the hay, he spotted Shao walking towards them.

"Xing?" Shao frowned as he left the two girls and moved to the haystack. "What are you doing there?"

Lingqi crawled out of the haystack and paused when Shao frowned at her. He then raised an eyebrow and then started to laugh. Lingqi looked back at Xing, who had climbed out of the haystack.

"What?" Lingqi asked.

"Nothing," Shao replied, as he turned around and went back to the girls, one of them leaning up to kiss him on his lips.

"He's such a loser," Lingqi muttered, "He has problems."

"Come on," Xing shouted.

Lingqi realised that Xing had already disappeared along the street and she rushed to catch up with him. Xing reached a massive building with grand doors and a tall door knob. Xing barged the doors open, to see hundreds of soldiers and civilians training with spears. A tall man with a thin beard barked orders at the soldiers as he waved his hands.

Lingqi rushed beside the tall man, Hu Zhen, and shook him. The soldiers fell into disarray as Hu Zhen looked at the young girl. He raised an eye brow at her, before grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.

"What did you come here for?" Hu Zhen asked, as he shook her, before turning to the soldiers. "Get in line!"

"Where's my uncle?"

"He's upstairs," Hu Zhen moaned, before returning to his barking of orders.

Lingqi followed Xing up the stairs until they reached Hua Xiong's office. Hua Xiong was sitting down, watching the soldiers from the doorway. Lingqi ran into him and hugged him, tucking her head beneath his chin. She found her way around his back and held him tight.

"Lingqi," Hua Xiong whispered, stroking her hair. "You brought your friend."

"I'm here because he sent me," Lingqi said, closing the door on Xing. "But I'm going to your house tomorrow, considering nothing goes wrong. He wants you to go there now."

"Go home," Hua Xiong told her, as he pulled his shirt off.

Hua Xiong was one of the bravest generals of the time, nearly able to best Lu Bu himself. He was far more muscular than her father and he was dark-skinned with stubble and was in his mid-thirties. His hair was fairly short but he was a handsome man. He grabbed a plate of armour and quickly clipped it on, before pulling his shirt over the armour.

"Why did you do that?" Xing asked.

"Go home," Hua Xiong quickly repeated to Lingqi, who grabbed Xing's hand and ran out of the door.

As soon as Hua Xiong was sure they had left, he grabbed his halberd and made his way to a second door. As he walked onto the street, he felt the cool breeze blowing into his face. It only took thirty minutes for him to walk to the palace and when he reached it, the guards there were drowsy.

"You called me!" Hua Xiong called out to Dong Zhuo as he entered the hall and lowered his halberd."

"I have a visitor tonight and I want to be sure that you bring him here," Dong Zhuo groaned. "Its my general, Cao Cao, leaving his post in Jiafeng to see me here today."

"Then I shall be here."


	4. Dangerous Assassination

**Tale  
****Chapter IV, Dangerous Assassination**

**Disclaimer: **I own Lu Shao and Li Feng.  
**Author's Note:** I morphed Chapter IV and Chapter V together because I noticed how short my chapters were becoming. When you see "**A few days later...**" it is the section that Chapter V should begin. In case you are wondering, I have pre-written the story and have uploaded it onto Fanfiction and added both the Disclaimer and the Author's Note. Chapter V would've been called "The Coalition".

When night time had cooled over, the lamps in the streets were lit and the noblemen had assembled in Dong Zhuo's court. Amongst them was Wang Yun and his nephews. Diao Chan was in a small room in the palace, hidden away from Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo, with Lu Bu by his side, was pleased when Hua Xiong entered with Cao Cao. Dong Zhuo allowed Cao Cao to take a seat while Hua Xiong protected him from behind.

"It is a privileged honour to be here before you," Cao Cao spoke as he sat.

"I am the person in this world who can change everything!" Dong Zhuo shouted.

The generals stood tall. Li Jue, a tall young man clad in armour, looked at the generals behind him, who were all members of his faction. Guo Si stood beside Li Jue. Guo Si, as opposed to Li Jue, appeared a little order with a miserable face and wrinkles on his forehead. Li Feng, an uncle of Li Jue's, was an elderly adviser who had white hair and a large grey beard. His grandson, Li Su, was standing beside him, with a sheaved dagger in his belt. His twin brother, Li Ru, was a handsome, young, brown-haired man who was known for being evil. He was the very man who had carried out the murders of the Emperor and his mother, pushing them from a window, a year before. He was the evil of the dynasty.

"If it were not for my men, however, I would have nothing!" he shouted. "So I want to congratulate them for their successes. With this, I ask Cao Cao to be the Administrator of Hubei!"

Cao Cao smirked. He knew he would receive the title anyways, but he would never attend this post. Instead, he drew the sword with the seven jewels from his waist and stood. He hid it in his robes as he turned to Dong Zhuo and began to speak.

"I am glad to recieve this title," Cao Cao said, as Lingqi entered the room and marched straight through the hall until she reached her father, while Shao approached them much more quietly. "But there is something I wanted to discuss with you. In private."

"Be that so," Dong Zhuo replied.

Li Ru leaned forwards uneasily, and his hands slammed against the table. He pointed towards Cao Cao and screamed, "Traitor," in anger. In a moment of blurriness, he leapped over the table and rushed towards Cao Cao. He then slowed down and entered a motion of calmness. He reached for his fan from his belt and flushed it open, walking slowly around Cao Cao, as if to observe him. Lingqi frowned as Li Ru waffled the fan in front of his face. Cao Cao nodded to Li Ru, and then looked down at his robes in order to check if Li Ru had seen his sword. He remained collected when he realised he had not been seen by Dong Zhuo or any of the other men.

"What is your problem?" Cao Cao inquired, not moving. "Because as I recall, the definition of a traitor is a man who has committed a treacherous crime. And treachery is a form of betraying your liege. And, since the last time I recalled, your liege was the Emperor. But you shoved him from his bedroom window. Is that not a crime of treason? Are you not the treacherous traitor?"

"That would be the case," Li Ru replied, flushing his fan once more to hide his embarrassment, while producing daggers with his left hand, "If only a traitor was a man who betrayed an emperor. But he wasn't my emperor, for my emperor is yet to be crowned."

"Crown him then," Cao Cao taunted, "Go ahead and cause his downfall. Then you would truly be a traitor, would you not?"

"How dare you have the guts to name me a traitor?" Li Ru said loudly. "When you came here with the intention to assassinate my lord with a knife I believe you hide within your robes!"

"Incredulous moron," Cao Cao spat in Li Ru's face and turned to Dong Zhuo. "I will prove my loyalty to you!"

"Dare you go ahead!" Li Ru smirked, pointing the daggers in Cao Cao's direction.

Cao Cao raised a brow and grabbed the robe from the top left side of his shoulder. He then thrust the robe from his arm and held it out into the air, clutching the dagger within the robes. Dressed in a woolen shirt and plain trousers, Cao Cao did not allow the dagger to be visible, and trust was earned by Dong Zhuo instantly. Cao Cao knew that it was still not enough and held it out to the soldiers.

"Come, I ask you, my lord, to allow one of your men to search the robes for a dagger," Cao Cao remarked, looking towards Li Ru. "There is none."

"Do not worry," Dong Zhuo called out, believing his general. "I can trust you, Cao Cao."

Li Ru nodded to Cao Cao and turned his head to his twin brother, who had creased a smile on his face. Li Su then bowed his head to his brother, who returned to his side, and laughed. Li Ru hid the daggers in his robe then punched his brother in his arm. Dong Zhuo was not pleased by his strategist's behaviour but decided to ignore it and he walked towards an entrance at the left side of the hall.

"Come, Mengde," Dong Zhuo gleefully said, seemingly forgetting of the prior events. "What is it you want to tell me?"

As soon as the hall was out of earshot, Dong Zhuo stopped and looked into a mirror. He stroked his beard then adjusted his collar before turning to his general and cackling without reason. Cao Cao eyed the Chancellor then paused.

"I hope I didn't offend you earlier," Cao Cao sighed.

"Of course not," Dong Zhuo shook his hand. "What do you want?"

"I ask for a great steed to test out," Cao Cao lied, putting the robe back on as he spoke. "If I am to serve you in Hubei, I must reach it with great speed in order to prove myself to you."

"Indeed!" Dong Zhuo answered loudly. "In fact, Fengxian's on his way now with the horse. I've already asked him."

"Then I will wait for him," Cao Cao replied, clutching the dagger and holding it behind his back. "But I need to do something before. I need to put a rebel to rest."

"What rebel?" Dong Zhuo asked with a shallow tone.

Cao Cao raised the dagger into the air to strike him. Dong Zhuo was digging in between his teeth in order to remove food stuck between when he caught sight of a glint in the mirror. Suddenly, Lu Bu entered the large corridor through a door with his halberd behind him. Dong Zhuo span around, but Cao Cao was kneeling, the dagger in his hands, and his eyes glued to the ground.

"You did have the dagger!" Dong Zhuo barked, taking a step back.

"I didn't want to tell you because it was a gift," Cao Cao falsely told him. "The Seven Star Sword is a gift I ask you to accept."

"Thank you, Mengde!" Dong Zhuo squirmed, snatching the sword and smiling. "What beauty! Look at the size of the jewels!"

"Your horse is outside," Lu Bu said as he raced down the hallway and stood between Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao.

"Ride around the city once and return here then tell me if it is good enough," Dong Zhuo interrupted.

"I shall," Cao Cao remarked, leaving in a hurry.

**A few days later...**

Zhang Miao entered the camp to see sixteen men standing on the platform. Zhang Miao, one of the warlords who had attended Wang Yun's party, walked up onto the platform, Cao Cao shortly behind him. Zhang Miao stepped onto the platform and bowed to the other sixteen warlords.

"I am Zhang Miao," he shouted out to the crowd of soldiers. "I have responded to Cao Cao's call-to-arms! I have brought with me ten thousand troops stationed a mile west!"

Seventeen warlords stood side by side as Yuan Shao, another attendant to Wang Yun's banquet, stepped onto the platform. He did not introduce himself, as he expected the people to know him already. It took a few seconds for the soldiers to go silent before Cao Cao stood in the middle of the platform. Yuan Shao and Zhang Miao nodded to each other before Cao Cao had begun his speech.

"Men of our armies," Cao Cao spoke. "Recently, a fellow warlord and vassal of the Han, Ding Yuan, was killed shortly after Dong Zhuo had practically usurped the Han Dynasty by his stepson, who joined Dong Zhuo thereafter. We have lost an emperor and an empress dowager to the villain! More recently, I promised one of the loyal retainers of the Han, Wang Yun, that I would return from Luoyang with Dong Zhuo's head."

"Do you have it?" the warlord Gongsun Zan asked.

"Do you see it?" Cao Cao responded, before continuing. "I failed indeed. However, I escaped with my life with no losses. I returned to this fortress and wrote to every warlord in this empire to meet here if they intend to join a coalition against Dong Zhuo. Eighteen of the twenty-nine warlords, excluding Dong Zhuo himself, are present here today. However, we must still select the leader otherwise the coalition would fall apart."

"I believe it would only be right if you chose," Zhang Miao stepped forth and bowed. "You gathered us. If you have enough bravery to do that, you must be intelligent enough to choose a wise commander."

"Then I choose my old wise friend Yuan Shao," Cao Cao shouted so that the troops could hear him. "Do you accept?"

"Indeed," Yuan Shao replied. "My first decision as the coalition's commander is that Cao Cao does not lead his own force. As the very man who should be credited for this coalition's establishment, it would be unfortunate if Dong Zhuo were to target and slay you. Instead, you will be a subordinate of Zhang Miao as long as Dong Zhuo holds the grudge against you for your loyalty to the Han."

"A wise choise, old friend," Cao Cao answered, stepping into the crowd and joining the soldiers. "Now the coalition will strive."

"Our aim is to punish the traitor and bring back prosperity to the empire!" Yuan Shao bellowed. "We will return the Han to its former glory!"

Yuan Shao swung his sword into the air, yelling a battle cry. The roar of the men could be heard from a mile away. The gongs began to beat and the drums were pounded. Yuan Shao stepped forwards and reached his hand out, opening his palm for the men to see.

"In my hand there is something called justice," he shouted, as the generals looked towards him. "It walks hand-in-hand with loyalty, trust and benevolence! In my other hand, there is corruption, which takes sides with treachery, distrust and evil! As I clench my fist, I clench the evil of the Han and wash it away, leaving us with the benevolent rule of the Han dynasty! We shall rid the lands of the turmoil and bring peace and prosperity back to the people."

The uproar was frightening. Men slammed their spears to their chests and threw their helmets into the air. Yuan Shao nodded to Zhang Miao and then to Cao Cao, before turning about and walking into the main tent positioned at the rear of the platform. Yuan Shao entered, to see his half-brother, Yuan Shu, had already slipped from the speech and was resting on one of the chairs.

Yuan Shu sneered with disgust when he saw his brother, followed by Zhang Miao, enter the tent. His eyes twitched as he led his hand down to his side and played with the kilt of his blade. He blinked, before drawing his sword and charging towards his brother. Yuan Shao drew his own sword and parried his brother away before swinging towards him to kill him. Yuan Shu avoided the blow narrowly and leaped into the air, slicing through the air in order to get a finishing blow.

"You fool," Yuan Shao shouted, guarding the attack and angrily knocking Yuan Shu's sword from his hands. "What are you doing?"

"You think you're so great!" Yuan Shu growled, shoving his brother into the table. "You think you have the entire coalition at the grip of your hands but you do not! Only I will determine whether you are able to win this war or not."

"Stop wasting my time," Yuan Shao replied, attempting to place his sword in his sheath, however, Yuan Shu had managed to pick up his own blade and was now holding the sword so its tip touched his brother's hand. "You pompous fool, you mean nothing here."

Yuan Shu was shaking so violently he almost cut Yuan Shao's hand open. He quickly pulled the sword back and struck again, the blow deflecting of the large candelabra right beside Yuan Shao's head. Yuan Shao, who had flinched at the attack, unintentionally avoided another strike. Yuan Shao nearly beheaded Yuan Shu in a fast swipe but Zhang Miao had found a spear and had knocked Yuan Shao's sword out of his hand just in time. Zhang Miao swung around and smashed the spear in Yuan Shu's face before resting.

"The coalition has just been founded and you two are already feuding with one another?" Zhang Miao asked, angered. "What example are you setting us?"

"What's the commotion?" a general asked, sticking his hand through the curtain of the tent before entering cautiously.

"Nothing," Yuan Shu spat, walking towards the general, "Get out of my way, Sun Jian."

Sun Jian, the general, was wearing a helmet with a red scarf tied around it. Dressed in full red attire covering a set of armour, Sun Jian was clearly a man who did not trust many people, and was a cautious but ferocious warrior. Sun Jian strolled towards the senior general and raised a brow.

"Common swine," Yuan Shu muttered as he exited.

"What happened here?" Sun Jian asked, a look of confusion swept across his face.

"Sit down, I need to speak," Zhang Miao spoke. "I need one of our men to infiltrate Dong Zhuo's camp. A spy. We need to find out whether or not Dong Zhuo is truly expecting an attack."

"Send my aunt's son," Cao Cao's voice boomed from the doorway. "He is still young, so he is less likely to be discovered, and he is already in Luoyang so entering the city would not be too difficult."

"Yes, very well," Yuan Shao replied, nodding his head. "Although our strategies are little, we will leave them to you two, Zhang Miao and Cao Cao. Sun Jian, I ask only that you lead the vanguard if need be."

"My Lord," Sun Jian bowed.

"So, should I send the message to my cousin or not?" Cao Cao responded, throwing his hand into the air.


	5. The Letter of Change

**Tale  
****Chapter V, The Letter of Change**

**Disclaimer: **I own Lu Shao, Cao Shen and Ying Seiyu.  
**Author's Note:** This is technically Chapter VI as I morphed two chapters into one in the previous chapter. In the last chapter, I lacked the inclusion of Lu Shao and Lu Lingqi because of storyline, so I've brought them back here. The story, like other stories I've written, are purposely written about the storyline and may cause me to forget to include characters in the chapter.

"Hey, Xing," Lingqi called out, "What are you doing?"

"Just reading something," he replied, as he stuck his head out of the window. "You know how early in the morning it is?"

"Sorry, just wanted to check up on you," she answered, shyly turning her head away.

"Well, I'm fine," he said, looking down at her.

Lingqi nodded her head as he returned through the window and rushed downstairs. He proceded the open the door for her however, as he moved towards the door, he noticed that she was already inside the house, sitting on a chair by the table.

"Come in," he sardonically said, before turning to her. "Lingqi, are you alright? You look..."

"I'm fine," she interrupted. "I just wanted to check up on you."

"Really?"

Lingqi scratched her cheek before breaking into tears on the table, causing Xing to rush to her side and hug her. He held her in his arms for a small number of seconds before he quickly jumped back and widened his eyes. Lingqi was still in tears, so he slowly reapproached her and took her hands. He then gently pulled her arms so that she would look up at him. When she looked up eventually, he gently stoked her back.

"What's with the tears?" he asked, wiping them away one by one before looking deep into her eyes. "Why are you upset?"

"It's nothing," she whispered, leaning onto him.

"Nothing doesn't bring a girl to tears, Lingqi," he stroked her hair as he said these words. "Just talk to me."

"It's Dong Zhuo," Lingqi wept. "Everytime I see him, he tries to touch me. He disgusts me, I mean, my father doesn't even see it. I miss my grandfather, Xing, I don't want him."

"If I could help you," Xing saaid quietly, while stroking her hair, "I would help. But..."

"You can't help me," she cried, sitting up. "You don't understand anything! You don't even know what he'd do."

She leaped up and stormed out of the house, as if he had said something rude to her. As she slammed the door, he proceded to chase her, however, he decided against it and instead headed up the stairs. As he turned into his bedroom window and glared out the window, his heart melted. Lingqi had taken her horse and rode away from the house. Xing turned around and lifted the thin piece of paper in front of him in order to read it. His eyes observed the letter, and slowly, a small smile creased onto his lips eventually turning into a bizarre laugh. Xing rolled up the letter and raced down the stairs and out of the door to catch up with Lingqi. Shao had found his way to the home of one of the ladies accompanying him the night before. He had fallen asleep there after they had cooked him a delicious meal, and he had not been bothered to wake for another twelve hours. The lady who had accompanied him was the daughter of Cai Yong, one of the loyalists who served Dong Zhuo. As he knocked on the daughter's door, she opened it and eyed him. He smiled at her before moving into her embrace. After cuddling her for a few seconds, he took her by her waist and kissed her. Then, she looked up at him.

"Why are you so happy?" she asked, a smile creeping on her face.

"I've missed you," he answered, kissing her on her cheek and gently pushing her through the door. "I've missed you so much."

"I bet you say that to all the girls," she smirked, as he kissed her once more.

Shao pushed the door closed but a hand caught it and the door was pushed open. Shao turned his head to see his sister burst through the door in tears, surprised more by the tears than by her storming into the house.

"What are you doing here?" Lingqi asked her brother, before rushing to Wenji's coach and crying.

"What happened?" Shao asked, immediately concerned.

Wenji rushed to Lingqi, who was one of her closest friends, and hugged her. Lingqi began to weep in her lap while Shao stood there, annoyed that his sister had prevented him from being alone with Wenji. Then, Xing's fists pounded on the door and Shao opened it.

"Where is she?" Xing asked, before spotting her and rushing to her. "Lingqi, listen to me!"

"What happened to her?" Shao asked.

"You say anything and I'll stab you!" Lingqi shouted at Xing, her hands clenching tightly, before she burst into tears again.

"She's just upset," Xing nodded at Shao before heading towards Lingqi but was stopped in his tracks by Shao, who grabbed in pushed him onto the wall.

"What happened to her?" Shao shouted, tightening his fists.

Xing remained silent, squeezing his eyes close, as Shao hovered his fists around his face. Then Lingqi suddenly stopped crying and began sniffing while Wenji held her in her arms. She opened her mouth to speak but words didn't come out. Lingqi stood up and looked at Shao before shaking her head, encouraging Shao to release his grip on Xing.

"We had a fight," Lingqi lied. "It's nothing, really."

"Alright," Shao nodded, believing his sister, before turning to Xing and blinking. "Why did you come here?

"I wanted to talk to Wenji," she spoke, sniffing again.

"What is it Ling?" Wenji asked.

As Lingqi and Wenji began speaking, Shao frustratedly thrust his hand into the wall. Then, Xing lifted the letter and rushed towards Wenji waving the letter in the air. He began to read the letter before noticing Shao observing from the corner of the room, hushing him on the fourth word. Then, Wenji began to laugh as Lingqi whispered something in her ear. Shao and Xing watched keenly to see what they were speaking about but neither of them managed to hear anything.

"Lingqi, I need to talk to you," Xing said, a smile on his lips.

"Whatever you need to say, you can say it here," Lingqi glared at Xing, her heart pounding heavy.

"I really need to speak to you in private," Xing told her.

Lingqi looked to Wenji for advise, so she nodded her head. Lingqi rose and followed Xing out into the kitchen. Wenji then ensured they were both out of the way before moving towards Shao again, who immediately took her in his arms and kissed her.

"Lingqi, listen," Xing began.

"If you can't help me then I don't want to hear it," she hissed.

"But I can help you, Lingqi," Xing grinned. "If you just listened to me. Let me read it to you."

"I can read, Xing," Lingqi blurted, tugging the letter out of his hands and carefully observed each word. "What could possibly help you help me in this letter?"

_I have written this letter to be delivered into the hands of Cao Xing, the son of the 16th Lieutenant of Luoyang Cao Shen, and his wife Lady Ying Seiyu._

_If this is not Xing reading this letter, I ask the reader to send this letter back to me immediately in order that I can resend it. This letter is of utmost importance and I hope that Xing holds this with high regards. In case you still do not know who is attempting to contact you, it is I, the son of your father's brother, and his wife, the cousin of your mother. My name is Cao Cao Mengde. I hope that you remember me for I haven't seen you since you were a small child, for I have been busy as of the last decade, settling our relatives' debts and buying new acres to feed my men._

_You may be unsure of why I truly wish to contact you. Although I would enjoy meeting you again, this is not why I have contacted you. The true reason is down to the tyrant who has occupied the Imperial throne, Dong Zhuo. As you share the same bloodline as I do, I can not bear to allow you to be placed into any danger, however, approximately twice a week, I would like updates on events occurring in Luoyang and I want you to spy on Dong Zhuo. If you learn that Dong Zhuo has learnt anything of any opposing movement, please send a letter. I appreciate your assistance and hope that you hold the same bravery as your father before you._

Lingqi had re-read the letter twice to ensure she was seeing right before turning to Xing, a large grin on her face. Xing's eyes gleamed with excitement – he was looking forwards to performing for his cousin and possibly help his cousin crush Dong Zhuo. It was difficult growing up in a city governed by a man who you hated, especially if your father was one of their generals.

"When are you going to start?" Lingqi asked, seeing his nervous face. "You are going to do it, right?"

"Yes, of course," Xing spoke, raising his brow.

"So what's with the long face?"

"Shao..." Xing winced. "Your father. How the hell am I meant to escape their wraths if they discover me to be a traitor?"

"I'll recommend you," Lingqi suggested, smiling.

The door opened, a tall man with a thin beard and moustache walked in – he was the typical strategist of an evil, cunning man – his hat was about twelve inches high. The man glanced down at Xing, eyeing him suspiciously, before noticing Lingqi and smiling.

"Lingqi," he greeted.

Cai Yong, Wenji's father and Dong Zhuo's advisor, nodded at her as he walked into his kitchen. Lingqi smiled in greeting as Shao and Wenji entered the room. Shao had his arms around her waist and was kissing her cheek when he spotted the advisor. However, he did not stop kissing Wenji, and when Cai Yong heard them, he glared at them.

"What?" he shouted, clenching his fists. "Get off my daughter at this moment! If you touch her again, I swear I'll kill you!"

Cai Yong grabbed Shao by his throat and swung him through the room, slamming his face onto the table, pulling him back up and holding his head under the washing basin. Shao quickly pulled himself back out and smashed Cai Yong in his face twice before twisting between his legs and flipping him upside down into the washing basin, soaking his clothes.

"Get out of my house, all of you!" Cai Yong screamed, climbing out of the basin, angered and soaked. "I'll kill you."

Shao leaned to Wenji and kissed her, his tongue entwining with hers, before Cai Yong stood up and pushed him off her. Shao quickly backed out of the kitchen before walking out of the front door, followed by Xing and then Lingqi. Wenji then moved to close the door, but Cai Yong immediately took his hand and smacked his daughter in her face, throwing her onto the floor.

"You dare treat me in this way?" Cai Yong growled. "Since your birth it has been a struggle to look after you! I have been constantly battling the Chancellor to allow you to even remain in this house and this is the way you repay me?"

"Then send me away then if I cause so much strife!" she cried out.

"In fact, I will," Cai Yong glared at her. "Dong Zhuo would very much like for you to be one of his personal concubines. I'm sure you'd be delighted to be one of his whores, seeing as you've started so early."

"Father?" Wenji pleaded her father to stop, this was hurting him as much as it was hurting her. "Please..."

"You have disappointed me, Wenji," he told her, fighting tears. "I have to send you away."

Wenji broke into tears and clenched to her father's leg. "Please, father, I love him."

"I'm sorry," Cai Yong calmed down, sighed, and sat on a chair, leaving his daughter to weep on the floor by his feet.


	6. Further Conquests

**Tale  
Chapter VI, Further Conquests**

******Disclaimer:** I own Lu Shao.**  
****Author's Note:** Like I stated in the last chapter, I try my best to be historically accurate, although that is not what I intend to do in this story. If there are events unrecognisable to even the keenest of historians, that may be because I created these scenes from the vast imagination in my head. However, note once more that this story is not at all accurate historically, by intention.

Dong Zhuo stroked his beard as he sat on the throne with the Emperor standing helplessly beside him. Wang Yun was bowing to the lord on his knees, Diao Chan standing half-dressed beside him. Slowly and reluctantly, she moved towards Dong Zhuo, who pulled her by her hand and onto his lap. Dong Zhuo brought her face down in line with his and moved in to kiss her as he stroked her cheek. Remembering of Wang Yun's presence, he brought his hand to sweep away a strand of her hair away from her face. He then used his fingers to life his chin so he could secretly look down at her breasts. A smile crept to his face when he saw that she was a buxom lady.

"You truly have beautiful daughters," Dong Zhuo smiled, stroking her neck.

"Only to serve your pleasures, my lord," Wang Yun spoke, an evil smile stretching across his face. "I cannot give you a rotten apple from my tree and keep the golden ones for myself."

Dong Zhuo's eyes were glistening proudly. He lifted her into his arms and wandered out of the room, the only trail he left behind was his laughter and her moans. His chambers were only a few metres into the corridor. Dong Zhuo opened the door, closed it behind him and pushed her onto his bed. He began to kiss her neck. Diao Chan stared up at the ceiling – intricate, beautiful designs had been painted onto the ceiling; flowers, concubines and gardens included in the work. Dong Zhuo moved his hand up her dress, bringing his lips to her chin.

A shiver went up her spine as Dong Zhuo moved her dress upwards and loosened his belt. She wrapped her arms around him as his trousers fell to the ground. He moved into her, a small pain erupting within her. Dong Zhuo kissed her again, pushing her backwards towards the pillows. Diao Chan grabbed a cushion and squeezed it as Dong Zhuo pulsed through her. Then, the door knocked, and Dong Zhuo was forced to stop. As he attempted to pull up his trousers, the door opened and Cai Yong peered his head through.

"Sorry..." Cai Yong felt awkward as he saw Diao Chan's legs spread open on the bed while Dong Zhuo tried to tighten his belt.

"What is it?" Dong Zhuo's voice was gruff and annoyed.

"You have asked for my daughter on many occasions and I have always refused you," Cai Yong began. "Today, I want you to have her."

"What?" Dong Zhuo's anger had disappeared and a smile creased onto his lips. "Where is she?"

Cai Yong signalled Wenji to enter the room, and she did, dressed in many layers of clothing, probably by intention. Dong Zhuo patted his vassal on his back before gently pushing him out, "I'll send her back to your home in the morning." He then closed the door, grabbing a thin piece of sharp metal from his desk and tearing through her clothing. He then loosened his belt once again, throwing the now naked woman on the bed beside Diao Chan. He moved towards them both, his fingers tussling with lust and his eyes gleaming with joy. Wenji turned to look at Diao Chan and nodded her head, smiling nervously.

"Which one of you want to go first?" Dong Zhuo asked, his smile was increasing as they looked towards one another.

Wenji winced, so Diao Chan smiled at her and looked to Dong Zhuo and spoke, "Me," before coming to regret these words as he held down her legs and drove himself into her. The rest of the night had gone so slowly and by the time Dong Zhuo had fallen asleep, daylight had broken. Diao Chan was sleeping beside Wenji on one side of the bed, with Dong Zhuo laying with half his body on the floor and his chest on the bed. At approximately seven in the morning, Wenji awoke. She turned to see the muscular man snoring at the corner.

She gently wriggled her way out of the covers so that she did not wake Diao Chan, however, this attempt failed. Diao Chan's eyes flapped open like the wings of a butterfly, her silken hair flowing down the sides of her cheek and onto her shoulder. Diao Chan rested her hand on Wenji's shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Are you alright?" she asked, squeezing her shoulder softly.

"Yes, I'm fine," Wenji whispered, looking at the Chancellor and shaking her head, remembering the previous night. "Thank you for..."

"It's okay," Diao Chan nodded, twisting her legs out of the bed and turning to the cabinet. "Was that your father last night?"

"Yes," Wenji replied as she covered her breasts with her hands.

"Why did he bring you here?" Diao Chan asked, shuffling through the cabinet quietly. "Did he want you to become his concubine?"

"Yeah," Wenji smiled as Diao Chan inspected the robes in the cabinet. "He caught me with my lover."

Diao Chan pulled a beautiful blue kimono from the cabinet and faced Wenji, measuring the maiden's body with her eyes. She then broke into laughter as she threw the kimono across the room. Wenji quickly dressed herself and stepped over Dong Zhuo's legs. Diao Chan slipped her legs through a pink kimono and as she pulled them up past her breasts and over her shoulder, she followed Wenji out of the room.

"You really did me a favour yesternight," Wenji thanked her again, as the songstress shrugged her shoulders and closed the door. "I don't know how I would've coped if he did that to me."

"You don't need to thank me," Diao Chan giggled, as she walked away. "If I was you, I'd just go to breakfast, have a nice meal and enjoy."

Wenji smiled gratefully at the songstress but Diao Chan had passed her and entered the dining hall. Half an hour later, Diao Chan and Wenji had found themselves in the main hall of the palace and had taken seats on either side of the large throne-like chair placed there for Dong Zhuo. The Chancellor himself appeared less than fifteen minutes later, appearing tired and walking with a slight limp. Some of the officers at the tables broke into a quiet chuckle.

"Be quiet," Dong Zhuo groaned, flicking one of the officers in his head with his fingers. "How did you sleep Diao Chan?"

"Fine, my lord," she stood up, in unison with Wenji, and curtseyed with respect to the Chancellor.

"What about you, daughter of Cai Yong?" Dong Zhuo spoke, turning to Wenji and grabbing a loaf of bread.

"My night was peaceful," she answered, as he tore into the loaf of bread with his teeth before dipping the bread in sauce. "How was yours, my lord?"

"You keep great company," Dong Zhuo replied, patting her head.

"Grandfather," Shao entered the room and bowed to Dong Zhuo, before eyeing Wenji, who creased her lips and smiled.

Shao took a seat by Lingqi and Xing, slapping her gently to prevent her from staring at Dong Zhuo. Shao then yawned and hugged his sister, who pushed him away from her as a joke. Xing broke into an amazing laughter as Lingqi playfully punched her brother in his arm. In spite of the punch being playful, it was hard and gave Shao a sore bruise. Dong Zhuo tore into his bread loaf once more as he too broke into a magnificent laughter, spitting breadcrumbs from his mouth. The room went quiet as he crunched a piece of swan between his teeth and then spat into a bowl. Shao, watching his grandfather, clapped his hands in order to signify a musician to begin playing music. The music was a beautiful piece written by Wenji, who instantly noticed it and smiled at Shao.

"I know this piece," Dong Zhuo smirked, turning his head to Shao and then Wenji. "This is yours, isn't it? 'The Swan's Wing', I believe."

"Indeed," Wenji nodded her head. "I admire your memory, my lord."

"I do not need your admiration, Wenji," he answered, turning his head and raising his left eyebrow. "Why do you expect me to want your admiration? Am I not admirable enough that you need not tell me of how admiring my admiration for your admirable admiration to admire my admiration of admiring your admirable admiration admires me to admire my own admiration more than admiring your admirable admiration for me?"

Wenji turned to Diao Chan, who rolled her eyes, and then back to her master, who eyed another piece of bread. He then took two small bites before laughing. Then he began cackling as Wenji stared into his eyes with utter confusion. He then proceeded to stroke Wenji's hair.

"I admire your admirable admiration," he finished, leaning into kiss her.

"Thank you, my lord," she answered, unwilling to continue an endless argument with him. "My admiration for you is higher than even the Heavens can register."

"And they can register a lot," Shao said, taking a seat closer to his grandfather. "That is why this old man is going to become the capital E, isn't it, Grandfather?"

"The capital E?" Lingqi asked, taking a seat opposite Shao. "Your going to become Emperor?"

Vomit almost shot out of Lingqi's mouth, spraying over the floor, however, she managed to keep her cool as Dong Zhuo tried to reach his hand to her. Abruptly, the door swung open and Lu Bu appeared, stroking his chin as Dong Zhuo waved his hand. The Chancellor then whispered something to Wenji, who proceeded to exit the room with Diao Chan. Lu Bu did not seem to notice them leave as he took the seat next to his adopted father.

"Fengxian," Dong Zhuo curled his lips into a smile. "I haven't seen you for such a long time! I've got some news!"

"What?"

"Bad news..." he sighed, before continuing. "A coalition has truly risen against me, led by none other than my old friend Yuan Shao."

"Yuan Shao's rebelling against the Han?" Lu Bu snorted, as he sat up and looked to Dong Zhuo.

"Serves him right," Lingqi muttered beneath her breath, earning a pinch from her brother. "I mean... Yuan Shao must die for his mistake."

"Indeed," Dong Zhuo scratched his beard as he said the word. "If you and your father can lead a small army to meet the coalition's forces and just teach them a few lessons, I'd be more than happy to give you a few hundred households."

"I don't want your petty households," Lingqi stubbornly remarked as she folded her arms with upset.

"I was talking to Shao anyways," Dong Zhuo said, lowering his voice and turning to Shao, a grin forming on his face.

"It sounds brilliant," Shao smiled, before slowly turning his head to his father, who was trying to bite into a steak. "But how are we supposed to crush this coalition if deposing Yuan Shao won't stop the attacks?"

Dong Zhuo shrugged his shoulders. He then turned to his adopted son and patted him on the back, before leaping to his feet and taking his plate with him. He then smiled back at Shao before disappearing behind the large gates at the rear of the hall. Shao looked at his sister, then his father, before sighing deeply.

"I don't like this," Lingqi mumbled, before frowning at him. "Why can't I fight too? I'm as much of a soldier as you are."

"You are good," Shao nodded, before pausing. "But can you really outmatch me, Lingqi? I mean, you're good with rapiers and all that, but can you really match my spear?"

"Spears and swords, I'll snap your neck with my bare hands."

"I don't know what any of you are talking about," Lu Bu grumbled as he threw the fat of the steak on his plate. "None of you are touching the battlefield and if you do I'll kill you both."

"That's foolish," Shao leaned towards his father. "If we conquer the enemy, we'd prove ourselves on the field. You wouldn't kill us. If we are slain on the battlefield, you couldn't kill us."

Lu Bu glared over at his son as he slowly backed away and scratched his brow. Shao then turned to Lingqi who was staring at her brother in disappointment. Then, she raised her finger at her father and squinted.

"Father!" Lingqi complained. "You're the God of War – why the hell would your children be fearful of the enemy?"

"I don't care," Lu Bu raised his voice.

"We are more than capable of crushing the stupid enemy with just the two of us!" she shouted. "If we have a hundred thousand soldiers on our back, I think we'd be more than fine!"

"Don't shout at me!" he spat in her face. "My word is law in this family. Do you understand me?"


	7. Killing Men

**Tale  
****Chapter VIII, Killing Men**

******Disclaimer: **I own Lu Shao and the woman with Dong Zhuo.**  
****Author's Note:** History has disappeared in this chapter. Everything in this chapter are fictional events, but I can't go further than that because "I have a reputation to uphold, you know".

Lu Bu glared into the empty night sky, angered at the fact that he had been proven wrong by his adopted father. His word was not final on this occasion, and it was not law. Dong Zhuo's word was the law and it was only his word that could mean anything. He tightened his grip on the Lunar Spear and raised the reins of Red Hare to his breastplate. He then lowered his arm again, his eyes still gazing in the distance.

He squinted, anger thrashing inside his chest, causing him to lower his head in pain. He blinked. Twisting his arm around, the Lunar Spear span in mid-air rapidly, slicing through the wind and twirling over his fingers. The gentle footsteps of a young woman approached him. As soon as he heard her, his fingers paused and the Lunar Spear froze. He then turned his head to the side slightly, looking by the corner of his eyes until he noticed Diao Chan. Then, his eyes widened and he leaped off his steed.

"Lady Wang?" his spare hand grabbed her by her waist and he eyed her suspiciously. "What are you doing here on the battlefield?"

"I came to see you," she gently spoke, reaching her hand to his cheek. "I realised how much you loved me and pleaded to my father to come and see you now."

"This is no place for you," he growled. "Go, leave them to me."

"I am Diao Chan," she said, stepping past him and looking forth at the vast span of land between Lu Bu and the rival camp. "This place will soon become a bloody wasteland."

"It's already a wasteland," he smirked. "Go back."

"Yes, my lord," she nodded her head.

As she turned around, Lu Bu seized her around her waist and lifted her into the air, kissing her on her lips. Her kimono only went down to her knees and his trousers' belt was loose, however, the fact that he knew her so little prevented him from doing anything with her, besides the fact that their army was right behind them, including his son and daughter. Shao and Lingqi rode towards him.

"Dad, let us march now," Lingqi said, looking at Diao Chan. "Is she your new wife?"

"I'm Shao," he introduced himself as he stroked his horse's back gently. "She's Lingqi. You must be my father's future wife?"

"Go back," Lu Bu told her as he placed her on the ground again, allowing her to walk back towards the camp.

Shao looked back at her and grinned. "Come on," a murmur from Lingqi was heard. "We have to repel them."

Lu Bu shot forth in full speed, having already climbed upon his steed. Shao pulled his spear from the rope connected to the saddle of his horse and followed after his father. Side by side, the three warriors raced towards the enemy's army. The cry of the enemy was loud and petrifying and the screams of their soldiers was even louder. As Lu Bu reached the enemy lines, his halberd was thrust down onto the soldiers and blood burst into the air. Lingqi quickly stood onto her saddle as she repelled the attacks of the enemy with her rapier rapidly. He then leaped off her horse, landing on the shoulders of two soldiers on her bottom. The impact of her jump dragged the two men to the ground, smashing their faces into the floor and knocking them out. As she rolled through the men's legs, she sliced at the legs of the soldiers around her and cut them into the ground. As she knocked a man backwards, Shao's spear drove into his chest and swung him around, thrusting him into a crowd of men. He then dismounted his horse, swinging his arm and crushing the soldiers around.

As they plagued through the soldiers, Lu Bu cut at the necks of the men around him slowly. The soldiers began to push backwards until they had formed an encirclement around him. After a few seconds of him observing the soldiers, they charged at him. Lu Bu sliced in an upwards diagonal movement and slew the entire charging force in one blow, throwing their disassembled corpses into the air and around Shao and Lingqi. Then, Shao drove his spear into the chest of a man as Lingqi brutally beheaded him and dived over his body.

"That was my kill," Lingqi growled, flying over his shoulder.

"I got him first," Shao smirked, as she landed behind him so that they were standing back to back. "Let's go."

Lingqi smiled, before rushing towards a pile of soldiers and cut through them speedily. Shao tore through the armours of the soldiers until he spilled the guts of one of the soldiers over his boots. Then, he thrust his arm downwards and split the soldier's body in half. Lu Bu then lifted a soldier into the air and quickly brought his back down onto his knee, snapping it, and leaving him screaming on the floor. By the time the main force under Lu Bu's command had reached the enemy lines, the enemy was in complete disarray. The battle had already been won by the time Shao had cut down another dozen men.

"Let's pursue them," Lingqi smiled, as she cut down her last man.

"That's not necessary," Shao blurted.

By the time he had finished speaking, Lingqi was already carving her way through the enemy's troops. Lu Bu had become bored with this battle and rushed to his daughter, grabbing her by her collar.

"We're going back to the camp," he said, dragging her back.

"Father, I can walk," she replied, swiping his hand away and walking back to her horse. "Let's race."

"You're on," Shao smirked once again, mounting his horse and rearing it. "Last to the camp is cleaning the other's room."

"And giving the other a massage," Lingqi smiled.

"I'm game," he said, tugging his reins and shooting forwards.

By the time they had returned, Dong Zhuo was sitting dully on his throne. A woman was sitting on his lap, unclothed, and kissing his forehead as he licked her nipple. His hands were clenching the cheeks of her arse as one of his fingers had made its way around them and round to the front. Two guards were standing in the front of the room, attempting to block out the sounds of her groaning as his finger moved faster and faster. In a few minutes, his hand was drenched in sticky fluid and his was running across his wrist, dripping onto his clothes. He then spun her around, loosening his belt and bolting straight into her. Her moan was enough to drive him into her harder and stronger. As quickly as he had span around, she was screaming loudly, gasping for breath and crying out his name.

The door burst open. Lu Bu and Shao were speaking with one of the guards outside the room as Lingqi approached Dong Zhuo, whose backside was in the air as he moved down quickly. Lingqi winced at the sight. Dong Zhuo's hands were rubbing her breasts as Lingqi's eyes quickly widened at the realisation that there was a woman beneath him.

Dong Zhuo heard her gasp and span around, pulling his trousers up quickly and doing up his belt. The girl was soaked down her leg as she rushed out of the rear door and disappeared from the room. Dong Zhuo sat on the throne and placed his chin on his fist as Lu Bu and Shao entered. It was as if none of it had taken place. Shao waltzed in, his hands clenched by his sides.

"Fengxian, did you destroy the enemy?"

"I did, but I was forced to allow the enemy to withdraw," Lu Bu replied, staring at Shao, who had ordered the withdrawal. "But we did put on a good show and struck fear into their hearts."

"That's amazing," he smiled as he clapped. "Lingqi?"

"What?" she spat.

"How was your time?" he asked. "Did you enjoy the battle?"

"I wish you were there," Lingqi answered as she smiled, and then whispered to Shao. "So you could get killed there."

"Fengxian and Shao, I've ordered all the bronze statues in the city to be burned down and turned into coins," Dong Zhuo smiled.

"Don't," Shao quickly said aloud, rushing forwards. "The markets will overflow, grandfather. The whole empire will be led into inflation!"

"As my intentions are," Dong Zhuo began, as he turned his head to his left. His adviser, Li Ru, entered, wielding his trademark playing cards which were almost synonymous with his being. Li Ru bowed as Dong Zhuo turned his head back to his grandson, and a smile formed on the faces of the muscular Chancellor, the scheming adviser and Lingqi.

"If we overflow the market with money, everything will become worthless," Li Ru informed, "as the people will have so much money they could buy what they want. The nobles will attempt to bribe us into giving them more lands and will appear to be corrupted in the eyes of the coalition leaders. The nobles will be refused, of course... What kind of government do you think the Chancellor is trying to run? Undoubtedly, the nobles will attempt to get in on the coalition but because of their bribery, they will be rejected places. We'll be the heroes, clear the land of overflowing money and raise popularity for our lord. If the coalition leaders are not tempted to give in to us, their soldiers will and the coalition will soon collapse."

"Yes," Dong Zhuo smiled.

Lu Shao cracked his fingers as he listened to Li Ru and then nodded, but Lingqi drew her sword almost immediately. "I'm not quite sure that this is a good idea. Innocent people and unaware nobles are targets of your attempt of power and popularity and will lose their lands for this plan."

"I would rather lose many lives for a better cause than lose a better cause for many lives," Dong Zhuo smirked.

"I will not let you do this," Lingqi shouted.

"I am going to be a warlord, the most dominating, vicious, calculating warlord, who serves an empire built by Dong Zhuo in less than ten years into the future," Li Ru muttered, "and I will not let a devious little tramp and her pitiful, disgusting face tell me how to run a country."

"I stopped listening, like, half-way through that but I presume I'm supposed to be offended," Lingqi slyly responded, "but I don't really like you and your foolish attempts to run this country. I ask that you... and your boyfriend..."

Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo's hands reached for her throat at the same time while Shao attempted to close her mouth and Li Ru attempted to smack her in the face with his cards. The result of these actions were Li Ru smacking Lingqi into Shao who, while trying to cover Lingqi's mouth, grabbed Dong Zhuo's hand instead, with Lu Bu strangling Shao accidentally. As Li Ru started yelling insults at Lu Bu and Shao, Lingqi quickly pulled Shao away and began to walk out the room. Lu Bu and Li Ru began screaming at the top of one another's throats while Dong Zhuo turned back to his throne and sat down, bored, while the two men bickered. Despite the guards outside fearing Lu Bu would murder Li Ru, none of them decided to prevent it as they feared what Lu Bu would do to them first.

"About my massage," Lingqi changed the subject from the previous conversation.

"Fine, I'll do it now," Shao moaned, sounding slightly disappointed in himself for losing the race earlier. "I still don't understand how you did it."

"Easy," Lingqi whispered, "I'm better than you at everything. From horse racing to archery, and fighting to drinking."

"Drinking has only led you to sleeping around with one boy," Shao reminded his sister. "And that boy is over there."

Xing was walking towards them when he recognised them and then smiled. He quickly embraced Lingqi and smiled at Shao as Lingqi punched Shao for his previous comment. Before any of them could speak to each other, a large scream came from the throne room. As they all span around, they could see Lu Bu impaling Li Ru with a sword in his chest, the strategist unable to speak as he writhed with unbearable pain. Then, Lu Bu withdrew his sword and exited the room, not breathing a word to his father, and shoving straight through Lingqi and Xing. Dong Zhuo and several guards rushed to surround Li Ru as blood poured endlessly from his wound. Speechless, Shao and Xing froze in fear, but a smile crept to Lingqi's face.


	8. Early in the Morning

**Tale  
Chapter VIII, Early in the Morning**

**Disclaimer:** I own Lady Li in this chapter.  
**Author's Note:** I haven't written anything in six months, but this chapter's been sitting here since ever. Therefore, I decided to post it up now. I also have one more chapter ready to upload so I will do that too, before coming back to this. This chapter was fun to write and I believe it is my longest so far. I intend to write about 2,000 words per chapter from now on so I hope you enjoy this. In the next chapter, I promise, all the main characters are involved someway. I keep on using particular characters for particular chapters and leaving out other valuable characters.  
**Author's Note:** The main characters of this story are Lu Bu, Lu Lingqi, Lu Shao, Dong Zhuo, Hua Xiong, Diaochan, Cao Xing and Cao Cao. Everyone else who you may see popping up in this story are simply support characters, such as Cai Wenji, Li Ru, Yuan Shao, Lady Li and Wang Yun. I don't intend to use these characters very much. Okay, please read and review.

Lingqi sat in the long basin and leant her head back, her hair dipping into the water behind her. Slowly and carefully, she lowered herself down until the warm water ran along the sides of her face. She relaxed her legs and stretched her arms forwards, closing her eyes and burying her ears under the water. Silence was rare in the capital. She took this opportunity to rest, placing one of her arms over her stomach. With every small gasp of air she took, she gently rocked her body. Her breasts lowered and then rose out of the water in a subtle pattern and her hair had exploded into all directions beneath her. She slowly moved her left arm towards her thighs and smoothly stroked it, bringing her hand up between her legs. Her right hand found its way to her left nipple, which she placed between two fingers and began to squeeze. One of her fingers tightened over her vagina, and as she inserted it in, there was a sharp knock on the door.

"Lingqi?"

Enveloped in the water, Lingqi couldn't hear the voice coming from the door when she had pushed her finger deep within herself. She slipped in a second finger when she grabbed her whole breast and squeezed it. Her stomach rolled in, causing her to fall deeper into the water and rise out again in pleasure. Her hips rose out of the water and back in when the door opened. Lingqi was oblivious to the figure standing at the door as she quickly thrust into herself with all her speed and strength until she pushed herself into the air and shot her head out of the water. Her body shook and she trembled for a bit before sinking back into the bath. She turned her head to the door immediately after to see it was still closed before she turned herself over and laid down on her stomach. She then floated in the water, her arse sticking into the air and her head resting on the side. The knock came again, with Lingqi hearing this time and looking up.

"Come in," she called to the door.

As the door opened, she watched Hua Xiong walk over to another smaller basin and lean down towards it. There was an eerie silence in the room as he took a knife from his belt and placed it in the water in the basin. He then wiped its blade clean with a cloth, scrubbing away at its sides. Lingqi sat up and looked towards him, straightening herself against the wall behind her.

"What's up?" Lingqi asked, her breasts perkily hanging in front of her.

"Nothing, I just need to clean my knife," Hua Xiong stated, matter-of-factly, before swallowing his own spit. "Lingqi.."

"Yes?" she asked, as Hua Xiong looked towards her and turned his head to the side. "What is it?"

"Well," he paused as he squinted his eyes.

"Oh, shit," she gasped, quickly looking for a towel as she threw one of her hands to cover her stiff nipples. "I'm such a..."

Hua Xiong stretched his hands towards her and grabbed a towel from the rack. He threw it towards her, forcing her to throw both her hands out and catch it before it landed in the water. She caught the towel and smiled, before throwing her hands back to cover her breasts again and slowly breathing in. She turned around as she began to wrap herself with the towel. Hua Xiong watched her arse cheeks clenching together before they were concealed behind the white towel. She placed one of her feet on the basin to climb out the bath but this only stretched the towel into the air, enabling him to see between her legs. He turned his head away at the sight and waited until he heard both her feet land on the ground before turning back to look at her. Through the towel, he could still see her meaty arse sticking out behind her and her hardened nipples made a bulge in the towel. Hua Xiong took a deep breath as she leaned down to grab her knickers from the rack. With her arse sticking into the air like this, Hua Xiong could see how curvy she was, but this thought only turned him back to his basin and made him scrub harder on the knife's blade.

"Uncle, is there any news on my father?" she asked.

"No, not yet," he answered, keeping his eyes on the blade. "I don't know whether or not he's being held by the Chancellor. All I know is that I have to go and quell the rebellion in a few days and pit myself against many of my former friends and allies."

Hua Xiong scoffed as Lingqi turned to him and frowned, before sighing, "Why don't you leave?" Hua Xiong looked back at her at this question to see Lingqi attempting to do up the strap on her bra, the towel having fell into a pile behind her back.

"Because I am loyal to my lord," Hua Xiong smiled. "And he is loyal to the Han Dynasty. As long as the second factor remains in place, so will the first."

"He's a glutton!" she cried out.

"He's quite in shape," Hua Xiong grinned, nodding his head. "He is popular among the ladies and a hero to the men. You should see him in battle, Lingqi, he fights like a ferocious warrior, yet he spares any who wrongs him. That is the sign of a good leader."

"He's disgusting!" she squealed, still trying to do up her bra. "Last night, before my father... You know... I caught him fucking his concubine in the throne room."

"He has a great sex life," Hua Xiong shrugged, a smirk forming on his face. "You can't hate him for that."

"I guess not," Lingqi shook her head. "I'm just paranoid, I guess. When I'm with him, I just feel sick. Since my grandfather died, I've just been dropped with him. Its probably the change that's getting to me."

"Yeah," Hua Xiong stood up, spinning the knife in his hand. "Try and let him in to your life, Lingqi. He's trying to do his best by you."

Lingqi smiled, genuinely, as for the first time in her life, she thought about befriending her grandfather. She was always hostile towards him and it didn't earn her any favours. It simply gave him, as well as her brother and father, another reason to scold her. Her hands tried to grab the strap behind her, but she couldn't reach. Hua Xiong had got up and moved towards her, standing behind her. There was such little space between her and the basin that Hua Xiong had to squeeze in. He lifted the strap and tried to pull them together, but there was such little space for his arms that he tried to gently push Lingqi forwards with his hip. Lingqi gasped as something hard poked her back. She smirked to herself with the realisation of what this was. Hua Xiong quickly strapped the bra together for her before walking to the door.

"Be quick," Hua Xiong said, passing her a clean kimono. "I'll be in the kitchen, cooking us breakfast."

"Thanks," Lingqi smiled, giggling to herself, as she placed her finger on her lower back and gently rubbed it.

Somewhere else in the city, Lu Bu sat in a chair in a small room as Dong Zhuo paced about. It would be difficult for this to happen, but he knew that his adopted son needed punishing. Dong Zhuo turned back to him and raised a brow. Lu Bu was dressed plainly now, in simple robes, while Dong Zhuo was dressed in a vest. He sat down in front of his son and rested his head in his muscular arm. Lu Bu leaned forwards and folded his arms on the table, huffing to himself.

"I'm sorry," Lu Bu muttered.

"What was that?" Dong Zhuo shook his head. "Your actions last night were terrible. I can only thank the gods that Li Ru survived the attack and no serious damage was done. However, this doesn't mean that I'm letting you off scott-free, you know? Its only three more weeks until Lord Wang Yun lets you be with your bride, and I have two new special concubines to keep me busy too."

"So?"

"Do you not see the punishment building up before your eyes?" he asked, scratching his jaw. "Come on, Fengxian? You know what I'm about to say, of course."

"No?" Lu Bu leaned forwards and frowned. "Go on."

"How do you feel about taking a visit to my concubines?" Dong Zhuo asked, stretching out his hands to symbolise his entire harem. "I just want you to go in there, take a list of the names of those who attended today, and bring the list back to me."

"Why?" Lu Bu asked, rattling his fingers on the table.

"I'm going to make a journey tonight to visit Yuan Shao and try to come to some terms of peace," he said. "And I want to make sure that at twelve o'clock on the dot, my concubines are waiting in my room. Take a list of all those who arrive so that I know who doesn't. Then, I might even let you take a ride."

"Alright, but no thanks," Lu Bu laughed. "I only want the woman I am to marry. None other."

"Okay, I see," Dong Zhuo nodded. "Don't worry then, clean the stables. That's punishment enough."

"No, I'll take the concubines," Lu Bu stretched his arm out as Dong Zhuo stood up and walked towards the door.

"No," Dong Zhuo smiled as he opened the door. "You've let the chance go, Fengxian."

Dong Zhuo chuckled as he left the room and closed the door behind him. He was shocked when he saw Li Ru across the hall, banging on Lingqi's door. Walking towards him, Dong Zhuo prepared for a few lies which Li Ru planned to tell him. Reaching him, Dong Zhuo saw the small blade in his hand and placed his own hand on Li Ru's shoulder.

"Rest," Dong Zhuo smiled, rubbing Li Ru's arm. "Fengxian's been punished."

"I'm going to kill her!" he shouted, banging on the door harder than before. "I am Li Ru, your closest advisor and friend! Nobody dares to touch me and slips away without death."

"Li Ru," Dong Zhuo jumped in front of the door and nodded. "I know your pain, but if you lay one hair on her body, I will snap your spine and feed you to your own dogs. Is that understood?"

"My lord," Li Ru shook his head and stepped back. "This would be better for the people, and the empire! That swine's daughter's tongue is too rude and brash. Let me kill her and do us all a favour! Let the vermin die!"

"I SAID IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!" Dong Zhuo shouted at the top of his voice. Lu Bu opened the door to observe the situation, as with many of Dong Zhuo's other advisors. Li Ru had been so frightened that he had thrown himself back against the wall and buried himself in tears. Soon, a crowd of Dong Zhuo's vassals had been formed to see Li Ru crawl into a ball in fear. "If you ever touch my family, or even make a threat, I will skin you and boil your flesh while you still breathe, and then I will sever your balls from your cock and feed it to you. Then I'll take your cock and shove it up your furry rat crack! Is that understood?"

"Yes, my lord!" Li Ru cried on the floor.

The other vassals were laughing quietly as Li Ru groaned in pain, holding his wound. Li Su walked towards the two men and bowed to Dong Zhuo, who stormed away from the twins. Li Su then helped Li Ru stand up before patting his back. Li Ru pushed his brother away, still in tears, and fell to the floor in a heap. Li Ru quickly tried to follow Dong Zhuo, crawling towards him desperately, but Li Su kicked his brother and spat in his face.

"You disgust me," Li Su bluntly told his brother, turning around and walking away. "I have business to attend to."

"No..."

Meanwhile, Lingqi walked into Hua Xiong's lounge. She was wearing the blue kimono which her godfather had given her. His wife, Lady Li, was sleeping naked on the sofa, in a ball. Hua Xiong had covered her in a blanket, but this was uneffective as it was too short to cover her up completely and thus, his wife's thighs and back was exposed, and the sides of her breast could be seen from her position. Hua Xiong was sitting near the end of the sofa, leaving little space for Lingqi to sit. There were two plates of bacon and bread on the side, with a warm glass of wine perched beside it on the table. Lingqi smiled as she lifted her plate and put one of the pieces of bacon in her mouth.

"Thanks," she said, as she slowly chewed on the bacon.

"Anytime, Ling," he replied, stroking her dark hair and gently tucking it behind her ear. "Is anything bothering you?"

"I was going to ask the same to you?" she replied.

"Why?"

"Every time you've looked at me since this morning, you've gone quiet," she whispered. "Is something bothering you?"

Lingqi moved her hand towards Hua Xiong's hand, placing hers in his palm. She then rested her head against his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his back. Hua Xiong became still. He had hugged Lingqi many times before, but seeing her this morning had changed his view of her. She was no longer his sweet little angel anymore. She no longer felt like his little daughter anymore. The sight of her fonndling herself had changed that. Instead, she had become another woman. A lady. He was beginning to notice how her breasts, though a little small and perky, were so beautifully shaped and how her arse was so meaty. Her face was so beautiful. Her eyes lit up everytime she saw him and her smile was not that of a smile a daughter would show her father. A niece would show her uncle. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Lingqi was only fourteen but she was quickly becoming a lady. He knew this was the age where she would begin looking for suitors, and before this morning, he would be helping her through it, like a father or a friend. But now, his mind filled with terrible thoughts about earlier and he had become attracted to her. Lingqi's head fell onto his laps. Inside his trousers, he realised he was rock hard, and he felt himself tapping Lingqi on her temple. She looked up to him before moving off the sofa and kneeling in front of him. He felt his cock tingling as she quickly undid his belt and pulled his trousers down. His cock flicked into the air.

"Oh my god," Lingqi whispered to herself. "You feel this way about me?"

"Who said I was thinking of you?" he asked, placing his hands on the sofa and clenching the cushions. "Lingqi, no..."

She brought her head down towards his cock and flicked it with her tongue. Her mind had unravelled into thousands of exploding thoughts as she thought about what she was doing. It wasn't too late to go back from anything. All it would take to stop this is for Hua Xiong to push her away or for her to move from him. They both looked into each other's eyes with a burning desire before turning to Lady Li, who was lying down on the bed, still. It would only take one of them to stop this from happening. As they both looked back into one another's eyes, there was a moment between them. He had never seen her look so beautiful before, her hair swaying behind her back and her cleavage exposed by the kimono. As the kimono slowly fell to her waist and exposed her breasts, their eyes filled with joy. She quickly brought her head down onto his cock and took it in her mouth. The feeling of his cock hitting the roof of her mouth and the foreskin unwrapping on her tongue forced her to take a breath, before pulling herself back down along his cock. The feeling of her tongue delicately massaging his shaft and the head of his cock shivering made him gasp out in horror. He looked back down at Lingqi, who was making a pattern out of bobbing her head up and down, and was set to push her away and stop this. His hand reached her head and he was ready to push her off his cock when he felt something brush along his back. Lingqi's head moved rapidly up and down his shaft until he felt a firm, tense grip tightening. Suddenly a wave of excitement exploded inside her mouth as the sofa began to shake. He gasped as Lingqi allowed his cock to shrivel inside her mouth until she had the entire cock in her mouth. His semen dribbled down the side of her lip and down her chin.

"Oh, my god!" he heard her moan.

He looked down to see her still burying the cock in her mouth, both of them satisfied by this voyage. But then he realised that his cock was still buried in her mouth and that she hadn't spoken. He quickly turned her head to see his wife's widened eyes staring at him in horror. Lingqi, oblivious to Lady Li watching them, crawled onto Hua Xiong's stomach and smiled at him, her mouth still filled with semen. She moved her hand to his cock and rubbed it a little as it hardened. As she tried to lower her body into his cock, with the tip of his shaft touching her vagina, she moved to kiss him. Hua Xiong's horror-filled face was enough for Lingqi to turn towards Lady Li and gasp.


	9. To Protect My Family

**Tale  
Chapter IX, To Protect My Family**

**Disclaimer:** I own Lady Li and Shao in this chapter.  
**Author's Note:** This was my second already written chapter. I am going to add some new chapters later. At least these chapters paved a mental image in my mind on how to follow the story of these warriors. Please read and review.

"You don't understand," Hua Xiong pleaded with his wife, "I didn't mean for this to happen!"

"What, she just slipped and fell?" she shouted, standing up and storming across the room. "It's a good landing place and all!"

Lingqi felt awkward, hovering over Hua Xiong. His hands were holding her waist and she was trying her best not to lower herself down onto him. Lingqi's hair was flowing in front of her face, making her look more beautiful. Lady Li flipped over the table in a rage, splashing the wine over their legs and bringing everything on it crashing down. She then turned to the window, to see various people looking up at her. Quickly, she covered herself, realising how little dressed she was. She turned back to her husband and shook her head, storming out of the lounge and towards their chambers. Lingqi, who had been holding her breath, tried to quickly push herself into him but just as the tip entered her, he gently pushed her off him and chased after his wife.

"Last night, Xiong," she screamed, "You held me in your arms and you told me that nothing would ever change between us. You promised me that you would love me and hold me tight forever. I slept in your arms. And before I wake, you're with another girl. Yet alone right next to me where I slept?"

"No, this was an accident," he pleaded. "My love, she... she came on to me!"

"So you're leaving all the blame on that whore in there?" she asked, lifting a dress and quickly putting it on.

"No," he muttered. "I swear, we were just sitting and eating when she pulled my trousers down and..."

"She's a whore, whoever that bitch is," Lady Li fumbled through her drawers, looking for her shoes. "She's a whore."

"Listen to me," Hua Xiong grabbed his wife and pressed her against the wall. "I swear on my life. I didn't ask for any of this. She was in the bath washing and I walked in and she was... playing... with herself. I pretended to ignore it and invited her for breakfast, she came."

"Oh, I bet she did," Lady Li muttered, as her husband's hands pinned her shoulder to the wall.

"She came to eat with me and then pulled my trousers down."

Lady Li went silent. Tears formed in her eyes as Hua Xiong moved towards her and kissed her forehead. She rested her head on one of his shoulders and sighed to herself. He looked to the door to see Lingqi standing there, with her kimono on. Hua Xiong turned back to Lingqi and gestured for her to leave. Lingqi smiled and turned to the door, leaving quickly. Lady Li shook at the sound of the door closing.

"Who was she?"

Hua Xiong took a deep breath as he kissed his wife before saying, "She was just a lost girl. She knocked here late at night when you were asleep and asked for somewhere to stay the night. I gave her our bed since you had fallen asleep on the sofa. I promise you, I don't even know her name, I didn't even ask. And I swear, if I knew she was going to try what she did, I would've turned her down. It was just so sudden and unexpected. She was only sucking my..."

"Shh..." she hushed him with a kiss.

"For like..." she kissed him again to shut him up. "Ten seconds."

"Okay," she smiled at her husband, leaning her head forwards to kiss him. I believe you, don't worry."

* * *

The wind wrestled with the flags outside the palace. The sounds of the generals' shoes parading towards them was enough to make Dong Zhuo smile. Many of his generals who remained loyal to him instead of the coalition walked past him, bowing in respect. Shao and Xing walked up the stairs and smiled at Dong Zhuo, who upon seeing Shao, patted his back and greeted his grandson. Lu Bu walked past his father and winked at him. Hu Zhen, followed quickly by Hua Xiong, rushed up the staircase and reached Dong Zhuo. Li Ru and Li Su exited the palace and approached the chancellor. Dong Zhuo looked down the stairs to see any faces he recognised. He was rather surprised when he spotted Huangfu Song take a few steps up and pause. The two men looked at each other before Huangfu nodded to him and entered the palace.

"I cannot believe such a large number of men came to join my cause," Dong Zhuo smirked, as Hua Xiong and Hu Zhen stopped next to him. "Each and every one of them could've abandoned me for the coalition but instead, they joined my service."

"Are you expecting any one else?" Hu Zhen asked.

"Just some of my friends from before," he smiled. "Such as Zhang Wen, Sun Jian and Ma Teng. I would be delighted to be joined by them, I have so many things to say to them. I want a chance to explain."

Hu Zhen twitched his beard and looked towards Hua Xiong, muttering, "I heard about it," before nodding his head and facing his lord.

"How?"

"Your wife found me at lunch and told me what happened," he said, looking at Hua Xiong and smirking. "You've got to admit, it is kind of funny?"

"No, it isn't," Hua Xiong shook his head. "My Lord, shall we go in?"

"Yes, yes," Dong Zhuo smiled at them, "and take a seat as close to the front of the hall as you can. I'm awarding you both for your excellence in the field of battle. You were the general that all believed would forsake me, Hua Xiong. I'm glad you're here."

"My Lord," Hua Xiong bowed his head.

"My Lord?" Li Ru mumbled as he tapped his shoulder.

"What?" Dong Zhuo growled, as he heard his voice approach.

He looked down the stairs as the last of his supporters entered the palace. He was set to follow them in but spotted Lingqi looking up the stairs at the palace. Dong Zhuo waited for a few seconds, but annoyed by his advisor's mumbling, proceded down the staircase to talk to Lingqi. She watched him walking towards him, many thoughts flushing through her mind about Hua Xiong. A tear found its way to her eye as she realised how much she regretted her actions. She knew she loved him so much but it was obvious he would've rejected him. He was a married man and she was only a young girl. Her legs gave in to her trembling body and she fell to the ground in tears, however, Dong Zhuo caught her arms as she fell and lifted her up. He cupped one of his hands under his chin and threw his other arm behind her back.

"I'm so sorry," she cried, holding Dong Zhuo in her arms. "I've been so horrible to you since he died and I will find a way to make up for it. I promise."

"I know," Dong Zhuo said, hugging her. "Everything I said, I also take back. The way I reacted, the words I said, they must've stung a little bit."

"Yeah, they did," she cried. "But my words were worse. I've called you such foul names but I didn't realise that you were really trying to protect me."

"I humiliated Li Ru," Dong Zhuo smirked. "This morning, he came to look for you and I shouted at him so loud that he burst into tears on the floor in front of everyone. I told him not to mess with any of my family."

Dong Zhuo kissed her forehead. Lingqi looked up at him, as he stroked his thick beard with one hand and stroked her cheek with his other. Lingqi smiled before looking back up at the palace. Dong Zhuo quickly noticed that something else was wrong and lifted her face to face his with one finger. He then released her from the hug and took her hands in his. Looking in her eyes for any signs of more sadness, he frowned and then helped her stand up straight.

"What is the matter?"

"I did something terrible," she sobbed again. "I forced myself on my uncle."

"What?" Dong Zhuo stepped back and turned around. "Hua Xiong?"

She nodded.

"Why?" he clenched his fists in anger. "What did you do?"

"I tried to suck his cock," she revealed, brusquely honest. "No, I did suck his cock. But then I tried to force him to have sex with me but his wife woke up."

"You sucked his cock?" Dong Zhuo smiled and looked back at her. "You really are turning into a woman, aren't you?"

"I'm in love with him and I know its wrong but I am and I really need you to listen to me because I have no one to talk to and I really need someone to talk to about this so just please, Dong Zhuo, please listen to me?"

"Stop rambling and speak," he said, sitting on one of the steps. "So you were at his and his wife was sleeping in another room?"

"No, she was beside us," she smirked as she heard Dong Zhuo start to cackle. "She was asleep when I did it. I barely even noticed her there. Then I tried to get him to fuck me but she woke up. I wanted him inside me, you know, buried there. I wanted him to impregnate me and run away with me and we could have babies and move away."

"Really?"

"Of course, I see how ridiculous it is now," she laughed. "He didn't want to fuck me. I tried to make him fuck me but he didn't want to fuck me."

"Stop using that language," Dong Zhuo said, sternly, but in a tone which made him sound caring. "But go on."

"Sorry," she mumbled, a smile appearing on her face as he wiped away her tears. "Now, I realise that I don't want any of that. I just dodged a really large arrow here."

"A baby-sized arrow," he laughed.

"Yeah," she giggled, leaning on him. "I still have my whole life ahead of me, you know. And he's a warrior. I didn't know how loyal he was to you until today. He told me how he would fight for you until you stopped supporting the Han. He has such faith in you. And that's what made me think I should put faith in you too."

She breathed a deep breath before continuing.

"I'm going to apologise to him after your ceremony, I think," she said. "And thank heavens that I maintained my virginity."

"Yeah, I'll toast to that," he smiled. "To Lingqi's vagina not being filled with cocks, huh?"

"I can't believe I'm talking to you about this," she sighed.

"I guess you put more faith in me than you think," he whispered, kissing her forehead once more. "We should be getting back. They'll be wondering where I got off to. The next time you have any problems, Lingqi, just come to me, alright? We can talk about it and I won't repeat anything you say. Whether its about how bored you are or how many cocks you fit in your arsehole, I'll always be there to listen."

"Thanks," she replied, kissing him on his cheek and standing up, begining to walk up the stairs with him. "So, who was that lady I saw bending under you last night, old man?"

"None of your business," he laughed, tapping his nose.

They quickly reached the palace gates, laughing together, when he smiled at her and nodded. She smiled back, a genuine smile, as their new friendship was formed. He headed into the palace halls and walked towards the platform at the front of the hall. The entire hall was filled with generals who were willing to give up their very lives for him. Shao was standing on the platform before Dong Zhuo.

"Here he comes," Shao announced, turning to the crowd. "The Lord Chancellor Dong Zhuo!"

"Thank you," he said, approaching the table on the platform. "I am pleased that so many of you could make it here tonight."

Shao stepped off the platform after patting his grandfather's back and headed to his seat near the front row. Sitting beside Xing, he nodded his head to his friend. Blissfully unaware of Lingqi's emotional state, Shao punched her arm for being so late and whispered a warning to her about being rude to Dong Zhuo. Lingqi smiled as she leaned forwards to see Xing, who smiled back at her and winked. Lingqi looked up at her grandfather. This was the first time in her life she had looked at Dong Zhuo and not seen a disgusting swine who needed to be butchered like bacon. Now, she saw a friendly man willing to share her troubles and hide everything from those unworthy to know. Hua Xiong leaned forwards in his chair to see Lingqi, who was a few rows ahead of him. Regret filled him. He could've stopped Lingqi from doing that. Their relationship would forever be strained and they would no longer be the same again. His wife and him would never mend and he took no care in fixing the unfixable. He closed his eyes and breathed in. Lingqi turned her head to look at him, a brief glance, as she realised that she was in love with him. It was her turn to hold in her feelings now, she realised, as she faced Dong Zhuo again. Dong Zhuo paused in his speech to smile at her. Lingqi smiled back. Nothing could've gone better for her – she managed to uncover Hua Xiong's love for her as well as fix the shattered, broken relationship with her grandfather. The only problem she had remaining was Lu Bu's future wife. But that was for another day. As for this day, she had everything she loved together with her in one room. These loyal generals would be her makeshift family and everything was together in place. All she had to do was keep it there.

"I have full trust in everyone here," Dong Zhuo declared. "There is nobody in this room who I would even think of betraying me. At least not anymore. So, I will reveal my plans to defeat the coalition here today. I will march with Lu Bu to Yangren while I send my generals Zhang Wen and Huangfu Song to defend the region around Chang'an. My own troops will settle at Hulao Pass under Zhang Liao's command, while I send Hu Zhen and Hua Xiong to conquer Sishui Pass. If Yuan Shao doesn't agree to my terms at Yangren, Lu Bu will make waste to the traitors there. There is a detour route to Sishui Pass from Yangren which I could take, allowing me to pass around Sishui Pass via the Rock Mountains and reach Hulao Pass in safety. There are three routes at Yangren. The first, and the safest, will be taken by Lu Bu's forces. Here, we are away from the other two routes. The second route is in a valley where the third route can see all that happens. If we send an archer unit to the third route, our second route march can be defended from attackers and we can easily and swiftly crush the enemy. One great victory will lead to the destruction of the coalition!"

"Listening, archer?" Shao asked, elbowing Xing. "You're going to be on that third route too, aren't you?

"Yes," Xing smirked. "Don't worry. I've taken note of everything he says."

Xing looked at Lingqi and smiled at her. Everyone at the hall was clapping their hands in applause to Dong Zhuo's fantastic strategy. It was complicated but it was going to work. Shao nodded his head as he listened to the well-deserved applause, and he hugged his sister as she joined the clapping. Xing nodded his head as he saw Lingqi's face. Her happiness. The joy in her eyes. The excitement as her lips creased into a smile. Xing nodded his head. She was good. She was faking it, faking her happiness and joy. In reality, Xing knew why Lingqi was smiling. Why she was so happy.

_Lingqi had re-read the letter twice to ensure she was seeing right before turning to Xing, a large grin on her face. Xing's eyes gleamed with excitement – he was looking forwards to performing for his cousin and possibly help his cousin crush Dong Zhuo._

_"When are you going to start?" Lingqi asked, seeing his nervous face. "You are going to do it, right?"_

_"Yes, of course."_

Xing's eyes gleamed and stood up, making his way through the crowd, who were exiting the hall celebrating their future victory. He reached Lingqi, who was trying to leave quickly to catch Hua Xiong.

"It's going to end," he declared, tugging Lingqi's kimono. "Ling, I'm going to bring him down."

Lingqi leaned in towards Xing until he was a hair's bredth away from him, and her lips neared his. He felt their lips almost touching, gently sharing each other's breath. But it wasn't so much of a fledgling kiss as her trying to answer him.

"Good," she responded, stepping closer and kissing his cheek. "Because I will stop at nothing to protect my family."


	10. In Cold Blood

**Tale  
Chapter X, In Cold Blood**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Dynasty Warriors and only own Shao in this chapter. **  
Author's Note:** In case you don't know the history of Ancient China, I have drastically changed the lifespans of characters throughout this story. I have also planned many twists, turns, shocks and etc. to keep you entertained (mostly myself, to be honest) and hope this story pleases you. Please, as always, read and review.

Xing followed Lingqi down the stairs as she hastily made her way towards Hua Xiong. He quickly cut in front of her, forcing her to come to an abrupt halt.

"What?" she demanded, trying to push past him.

"He sent me a letter," Xing smiled, restraining her gently. "I can nail him down, like you said. He doesn't deserve to live or breathe the same air as us. None of them do."

"Who are you talking about?" Lingqi asked, as Dong Zhuo walked past them both.

"Him," Xing pointed at Dong Zhuo, but Lingqi had already left the conversation and had moved to her grandfather.

"Old man, I have to ask you something?" she smiled, walking alongside him. "Its actually about battle."

"What is it?" Dong Zhuo asked, turning around with a massive grin on his face.

"I was just wondering if I would be able to participate at one of the battles you mentioned before?"

The crowd swept pass Xing until finally, there was nobody left. Xing walked towards a crate in the corner and, in a few swift agile movements, leaped on top of the crate and onto a hanging lamp. Using his momentum from the jump, he span around the pole and released his grip, sending him soaring into the air. Xing landed on the edge of the roof of a nearby house. From here, he spotted Dong Zhuo and Lingqi walking towards a public garden where a small fountain sat in the centre. For a minute, he watched the water overflowing and overlapping waves and observed as the waves crashed into each other and spilled to the lower basin. A few droplets were spitting out onto the pavement. Then, he noticed Dong Zhuo throwing his hands into the basin to clean them while Lingqi attempted to clap away pigeons perched on the top of the fountain. Xing quickly scuttled across the roof and onto the railing. His eyes surveyed the vicinity for a landing place and a route to the palace before Lingqi arrived there. He noticed a watchtower a small distance away and quickly looked down. He caught sight of a bag of wheat directly below him as well as a moving hay cart further in front. Without another thought to it, he sprung forwards into the air. His arms and legs swayed with the wind as he attempted to propel himself forward into the hay cart. He rotated his body slightly and fell into the hay on his side.

The sound of the hooves of the horses clattering on the pavement and the wheels crashing over bumps were all that he could hear. He leaned up and looked behind him, ensuring that nobody had witnessed his incredible dive. When the cart made a wrong turn, Xing bolted from the cart and began to walk towards the palace. Lingqi and Dong Zhuo were crossing over a bridge, which the cart had just pulled itself under, and were walking side by side past the admiring citizens.

"I'm still not sure if I want you to fight," he said, rubbing her shoulder with his left hand. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Come on," she responded. "You saw how I handled those soldiers in the battle earlier this week. I carved through them like a god."

"A goddess," he corrected her. "And I know how well you had performed then but this time we are up against a combined army, not just a few petty leaderless men."

"I don't even want to be in the vanguard, I just want to be there."

"You wanted to be in the vanguard?" Dong Zhuo snorted.

"It was just a suggestion," she sighed.

"That wasn't a suggestion, that was a notion," he replied, laughing beneath his breath. "And a rather awful one at that."

"Come on!" she pleaded. "I'll prove to you that just because I'm a woman, it doesn't mean I can't hand some guys a beating."

"Well I sure as hell know how your a woman now," he said, as she halted temporarily. "I mean, since you first moved to live with me, your breasts were almost non-existant."

"Oi!" she punched his arm. "I was thirteen."

"I'm just joking. All I'm trying to say is that you're fifteen soon, still too young, and underdeveloped. Mentally, mind you, for you're definitely developed in certain areas!"

Xing scoffed as he overheard his lord's joke, and although Lingqi had found it funny and was also laughing at this, Xing was disgusted. He was sure that Lingqi was faking her newfound friendship with her adoptive grandfather – it was all just a feat to hide the fact that she and him were conspiring to overthrow and kill the tyrannical warlord. Xing began to dash through the road and up the staircase, spinning a dart around on his fingers, until he reached Dong Zhuo's palace. It suddenly dawned on him that they had just left the ceremonial palace and had entered Dong Zhuo's personal residential home. Lingqi's chambers were somewhere inside the palace, and although Xing had never actually been, he had a good idea where it was. As Xing reached the wall of the palace, he sprinted faster until he had enough momentum to step on an out of place brick in the wall. He quickly shot up the wall, bouncing towards a balcony when he felt his momentum vanish. Xing managed to land on the balcony and knelt in front of the railing. Dong Zhuo and Lingqi had also reached the palace but were too busy speaking that they didn't notice the archer scaling the walls. As they approached the gate, one of the guards blew a whistle and six guards helped to push the gate open.

"Thank you," he nodded, smiling at the guards.

"I should find my father," Lingqi suggested as she passed the guards.

"No, come to my chambers, I insist," Dong Zhuo grinned, as he looked around him to see the silence. "We can have a quiet talk in there."

"Umm..." Lingqi paused.

"Come on, I have a surprise for you," he laughed.

"Sure then," Lingqi smirked, following him.

Xing lifted his dart and opened the door which the balcony connected to. He managed to sneak through the building without alerting the owners of the home and abseiled the walls on the other side until he was close enough to them to be seen.

"That bastard's going to rape Ling," Xing whispered to himself, closing one eye and aiming at his lord. "I won't let that happen."

It took them a while, but when they eventually reached the chamber room, there were two concubines sprawled across Dong Zhuo's bed, one of them being the woman from yesterday. Lingqi giggled as she saw that they were both naked and still awake, kissing one another. This amused her but she remained quiet when Dong Zhuo silently closed the door and tip-toed to another side of the room. Neither of the women could hear them and were passionately making love to one another as Dong Zhuo dipped into his closet.

"What did you so desperately need to show me?" she enthused, peeking over his shoulder.

"Here it is," he whispered, dragging an object covered in a cloak. "The Steven Star Sword, the sword of myths and fables, in my very hands and belonging to none other than myself. This is thanks to Cao Cao, my loyal general who is residing in coalition territory."

"Are you sure he isn't collaborating with the enemy?" she asked, instantly remembering Xing's letter from before.

Everything became clear to her now. Her mind rushed through many thoughts as she realised that Xing was referring to getting rid of Dong Zhuo. She remembered their conversation at Wenji's house about working with Cao Cao and helping him get information on him. She decided to find an excuse for herself but heard a small scuffle from the direction of the bed. One of the concubines, from the day before, was now kissing the others neck avidly while the other was tightening her legs around her. But the scuffle she heard did not come from them. The scuffle came again but this time she spotted Xing's hands pressed down on the floor. He was hiding underneath the bed on which the concubines lay, and was holding a dart.

"Oh my god!" she gasped.

The concubines looked up and quickly sprung off one another. One feigned sleep while the other leaped out of the bed and searched for clothes. Lingqi, although still amused by their frantic behaviour, was more surprised to see Xing beneath the bed. Dong Zhuo cackled violently when he noticed his concubine scuttling around the room and digging through his closet. Lingqi moved to the door and signalled Dong Zhuo to come with her.

"Come on, this is awkward!" she whispered, pretending to be uncomfortable with their presence in an attempt to get him out the room.

"Don't worry about it," he said, lifting the dagger into the air. "I know you don't really care."

"I need to find my uncle and I want you to be there with me," she quickly changed her mind. "Come on, we haven't got time."

"I've got all the time in the world," Dong Zhuo said in a singsong tone. "We don't need to rush, do we?"

"Yes, now hurry up," she blurted, holding the door wide open.

Dong Zhuo sighed as he walked towards the door and walked out, rustling her hair as he did so, and turned down the corridor. Lingqi tried to close the door and follow her grandfather, who had by now almost reached the end of the hallway. Dong Zhuo realised he was holding in the blade and began to jog towards her.

"What?" Lingqi spat, her nostrils flaring.

"I left this."

He held up the blade so she could see.

"Pass it here, I'll put it back," she rushed to him and snatched it out his hand. "You get running."

"Alright, alright," he sighed, walking back in his initial direction.

She fluttered through the room as she saw Xing climbing out from beneath the bed. Lingqi raised her brow and placed her hands on her hips in question to his presence in the room.

"I've got another letter," he quickly said, taking it out and showing her, waving it in front of her face. "He wants hard information on the upcoming battles and I've already written a response. I am going to deliver."

"This isn't what I want!" Lingqi said, looking into his eyes.

"That bastard's going to get what's coming from him and this letter is the only way to get that to happen," Xing replied, placing the letter in her hand and pulling out a dart. "I've got no time, but I'm going to their camp now to deliver the good news. Well done, Ling, you've played your part well."

"You don't understand," she shouted at him as guards' weapons began to clatter outside. "I don't want him dead."

Xing was panicked by the sound of the guards' weapons and armour rattling outside and jetted through the door. He pushed through them, convinced they were after him, and headed towards another room. He burst the room's door open and leaped from the balcony, without taking a single look at what was ahead of him. Xing crashed through the roof of a stable and landed in a large bucket of water. Soaked, he crawled from the bucket and towards one of the horses in the stable. Cutting the rope tied to a pole, Xing pulled himself onto the horse's staddle and kicked his legs. The horse began to gallop off towards the east city gates.

Lingqi hurried from the room, carefully cutting around the guards, and burst into Shao's room. Shao was sleeping on the bed beside a glass of water. Lingqi took a deep breath before searching her own pockets, but to no avail, she couldn't find any string. She crept behind Shao and placed the letter and the dagger in front of him, before searching through his pockets. She found a long roll of string and quickly swiped it. Tying the string around the glass of water, she placed it on Shao's head carefully so that it would not fall. Then she tied the string to the door handle and without looking back at him, slammed the door shut. Lingqi began to run in the direction of the main staircase, hoping to hurry to the stables. The glass of water tilted and then bounced off Shao's head, drenching his hair in water. Shao gasped as he jumped to his feet and shook the water from his hair. Spinning around completely, he noticed there was nobody else in the room with him and satisfied, noticed the letter in front of him. He lifted it up and read it, word from word, before taking the dagger and quickly dashing towards the door with newfound knowledge of Xing's plans.

He eventually exited the palace to see a load of horses galloping to the gate. Lingqi was dashing towards a horse and had managed to grab onto the reins of one of the horses, throwing herself onto it.

"Lingqi!" Shao shouted.

She turned her head towards him and nodded, leaving Shao confused. He then hurried down the stairs until he reached the horses and ran alongside them. He then jumped to the side and grabbed the reins of one of the horses. Unlike Xing and Lingqi, he had no knowledge of free-running and therefore was unable to maintain his balance on the reins properly and he smashed into the horse's back. This caused the horse to sprint faster than before. The reins slipped from Shao's grip and he felt himself flying away for a second but his right hand managed to clasp onto the horse's tail. The horse was brought to an immediate halt which sent Shao tumbling over the horse's back. Shao was thrown over the saddle and into the girdle, injuring his groin. In pain, Shao adjusted himself to the saddle and grimaced before taking hold of the reins and striking it in the air to force the horse to move.

Xing, meanwhile, had tied his horse to the trunk of a tree at his destination and had pulled a bow from a bag tied to the horse's saddle. The camp of the coalition army was directly across the stream and the sun was glaring in his eyes. It was weird for him to think that his cousin was sitting in a tent somewhere in the camp, which was barricaded by a mere wooden fence. Drawing an arrow from his quiver, he pierced the arrowhead through the letter and placed the arrow on the bow. The arrow flew from the bow like a bird, gliding through the air, until it struck a wooden post in the camp. Xing sighed before smiling, glad that his dream was one step closer to recognition. He heard the sound of a horse slowing into canter and the thud of someone landing beside him. This person was rather light. Xing turned his head to see Lingqi hurrying towards him.

"This isn't what I want," Lingqi stated, turning Xing to face her. "I don't want to go through with this plan, Xing. Let's just go home and pretend this never happened, okay?"

"Why?" Xing asked, as she cuddled him. "I'm not loyal to Dong Zhuo but to the Han. I don't care for the swine and would prefer to work under my own blood. Why pretend this never happened?"

"Xing, we can get through this," she smiled.

"No we can't."

"Yes, we can," she looked up into his eyes again, as if she could see his soul suffering inside. "We can do it."

She leaned towards him and gently kissed him. Their lips pressed against one another's as Xing moved his hands around her waist and thought of many bizarre things. He knew this was his only opportunity to have Dong Zhuo killed and if it was wasted by her, he wouldn't be able to live with himself and his relations with his clan would quickly deteriorate. Lingqi's kiss was so warm as she seemed to melt into his arms. Xing's stomach began to burn with an intesifying rage as Lingqi pressed harder into him. Neither had attempted to break through with their tongues as they were enjoying the warmth of the somewhat innocent kiss. Xing was frozen on the spot. She parted from their embrace and smiled at him, before burying her head in his chest.

"Its too late," Xing replied, swallowing his pride as she pushed her away from him in anger. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

Lingqi blinked. Hard.

"I can't believe you'd do this to me," she stepped back, turning away from him. "You didn't listen to me! I don't know if I can forgive you now. I'll talk to you later. Maybe."

"Ling, that kiss, that didn't change anything," he shouted as she mounted her steed and cantered away. "I won't stop until he has fallen. I support the coalition whole-heartedly!"

Lingqi lifted a spear which had been embedded into the ground in a previous clash between the Han army and other rebel forces. She looked at Xing scornfully before hurling the spear in his direction. The spear sailed through the wind like a brilliant ship, curving towards him and ready to slice directly through him. Xing's eyes widened as the spear approached him and prepared for the weapon to carve through his brain and end his life. He closed his eyes as the spear slit a line on the side of his neck and flicked small grains of skin into the air. Xing didn't flinch at the pain buzzing on his neck and instead, he simply placed a hand to cover the graze. Blood trickled down his neck and onto his fingers.

"The next time," she said, turning her horse around, "I will not miss you."

Lingqi galloped away from Xing, who was startled by his childhood friend's attempt to take his life. He turned around to face the spear, which had glided into the stream. She was gone from his life now all because of one stupid mistake. He closed his eyes and looked to the ground, wishing his cousin hadn't sent him that first letter, and shut his eyes together, hard, with hope that when he reopened them, everything would be better. He heard a horse striding towards them and grinned, pleased that Lingqi was returning. As the horse came nearer, he opened his eyes to see Shao flying through the air towards him with the dagger unsheathed. Xing quickly responded by diving to his left and avoiding the strike. Hastily grabbing an arrow, he lifted his bow and aimed it at his long-time friend's brother.

"I never really liked you," Shao mutterred, spinning his dagger arm around. "I've always thought you would do something like this. But I never imagined it was your intention to hurt my sister."

"It wasn't."

"I can't believe you are so blind," Shao shouted, circling Xing with the dagger facing the open air. "Xing, my sister is in love with you. Yet you continue to break her heart over and over again with your actions and plans and whatever else you do. But not again. Your ignorance will not be forgiven this time."

Xing ignored his comments and threw his dart in Shao's direction before positioning his bow into place and firing two arrows at the same time. One of these arrows hit Xing's horse and killed it while the other flew between Shao's legs and buried itself in the dirt. Shao quickly struck forwards and sliced upwards but Xing leapt back and countered with his final dart. Shao caught the dart in his hand but when he opened his palm, blood was flowing onto the floor. The dart rested in his hand. In a rage, he leaped forwards and swiped towards Xing, who resorted to taking out a shortsword and backing towards Shao's horse. Shao's swipe had missed completely as the pain in his hand had thrown him off guard. Xing struck with his longsword but Shao's dagger defended him from any damage. With the blow blocked, Shao tried to cut into Xing's abdomen with three swift strikes. Xing parried these attacks and brought his sword downwards to pummel Shao's skull. Shao readied a powerful blow and countered the downwards strike, throwing both boys backwards.

"This is the end of the road for you, traitor," Shao screamed as he readied his blade.

"I won't let you stand in the way of my cousin's ambition," Xing replied, calmer than Shao.

The blood from Shao's hand had filled into the design of the dagger while Xing's wound on his neck was beginning to dry. The two men looked at each other for one last time before they charged against each other. Shao forced a series of powerful blows which Xing dodged, ducked and deflected until Shao cut towards his foot. Xing lowered his shortsword to defend the slice but before he could slice upwards and split Shao into two, Shao forced his heel into Xing's sword arm and then pushed Xing back into the tree with his shoulder. Shao sprang from his position and pounced on Xing, driving his dagger into him repeatedly. Xing held his body up by parting his legs in order to maintain balance and kept himself upright to test Shao's mettle, but it was no use. Shao wouldn't stop grinding into Xing and continued his continuous strikes for ten seconds. Xing fell to his knees but Shao showed no mercy and struck Xing in his chest with his boot, knocking him backwards into the tree. Shao then kicked Xing's shortsword into the air and leapt backwards. He then lowered his entire body and rose his right leg into the air, kicking the sword towards Xing. The shortsword penetrated Xing's shoulder and pinned him to the wall. Tears had began to form in Xing's eyes as the pain became unbearable. Writhing in his own blood, he stretched his arm out for help but Shao quickly stabbed his dagger into Xing's chest. Blood splattered from his chest, nose and mouth until he was choking on his own blood.

"I'll die to ensure my cousin's ambition is seen to fruition, Lu Shao," Xing whispered, using all his strength to fight seemingly imminent death. "And I'll die for Lingqi as well. But would you do the same for her?"

Shao pulled the bloodied dagger from Xing's chest in a gesture of anger and placed it at Xing's throat.


End file.
